When Worlds Collide

Chapter Thirty-Eight

 "Watch out!" Ruffnut yelled at her brother right as a boulder hit him square in the face. He had made it up part of the climbing wall but only had around six minutes left at most. A small crowd had gathered to watch the two try and climb the wall that was a struggle even for the campers.

"Is this really necessary?" Gale asked, craning his neck to see the two climb.

"If they wish to work with the Hunters, then yes. Artemis rarely takes a liking to guys." Annabeth answered, still coming out of the fit of laughter she had earlier.

"What is it with her and guys? Are we really that bad?" Gale asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"No, it's just that she's a maiden and is the goddess of maidens, so she just isn't fond of guys. And there's also Orion..." She trailed off, shaking her head at a memory.

"Orion?" Katniss asked.

"It's a long story, but he is the one guy Artemis almost gave up her vow of maidenhood for, until Apollo sent a scorpion after him to kill him." Annabeth told her "And then we had a little issue with him last summer." Katniss nodded, looking back at the twins. They had barely made it up halfway, and Tuffnut was already slightly scorched.

"How much time do they have left?" Gale asked.

"I think about five minutes, tops." Annabeth answered "Though he may speed up if he doesn't want to get even more scorched..."

"And, how much time do we have before the game starts? I really want to finish this and get Posy." He said.

"First, the amount of time, and second, we're not going to leave until tomorrow morning, even if it is going to early." Annabeth told him, laughing as Tuffnut yelped and scrambled up quickly after accidently hitting some lava. Ruffnut laughed at him until she, too, got hit by some of the lava.

"I don't see why we can't leave now.." Gale huffed.

"You need to rest one day before we go, and it's too late in the day to leave now anyway." Annabeth told him "We'll get her, don't worry."

"I'm going to head to the top, meet them there if they make it." A boy, Jason, told Annabeth.

"Alright Superman." Annabeth smirked as he frowned at her, heading over to the wall. He surprised most of their group by, rather than climbing it, flying up to the top, past the twins.

"Would it be worth it to ask, or...?" Gale said.

"Sparky there is the son of the Roman god Jupiter." Leo answered, grinning "So he can fly and, last I checked, can shoot a lightning bolt once a day."

"What's his real name?" Gale asked, confused about all the nicknames. "Or is it really Sparky and Superman - whoever that is -"

"His real name is Jason, we just like to tease each other." Annabeth told him, then added "Like Seaweed Brain here."

"Whatever Wise Girl." Percy shot back, and then grinned.

"Kelp head." Annabeth responded, a smug look on her face. He rolled his eyes, giving up.

"We once knew someone who called Beetee and Wiress Nuts and Volts, but I don't think that counted.." Katniss trailed off. "Where is Johanna anyway?" She wondered aloud. Annabeth and Percy looked at each other, both confused, and shrugged.

They were taken out of their thoughts when they suddenly heard a screech followed by an "I made it!!" Call from Tuffnut. Annabeth looked up to see Tuffnut at the top, trying to extinguish some flames on his clothing, Jason laughing right next to him. A few loud groans could be heard behind the group, presumably from the Hunters. Ruffnut followed up close behind, and Jason gave them a lift down.

"Well, that was less than ten minutes. Barely." Annabeth noted.

"So they're going to have to put up with him now?" Gale muttered, smiling.

"Sadly, yes." Thalia said grudgingly from behind them.

"Here is your new ally, sis." Jason smirked, pushing the twins towards her. She just glared at him.

"Sis?" Gale asked, looking between them. They looked at each other and laughed, Annabeth knowing that this had happened many times before.

"Yeah, we have the same mother and father, though I was born when he was in Roman form and her when he was in Greek form." Jason explained.

"Don't ask unless you want a lecture." Annabeth warned Gale before he could ask anything.

"Yeah, figured that out a while ago." He muttered. "So, game, then Posy, right?"

"Yes, tomorrow, and yes." Annabeth answered "Let's go get the flags!"