Hey guys! So,this is an X-over (obvious from the description) with PJO mixed with a new type of demigod…this has never been done before,so if u have any questions or if your starting to like where this is goin',I'd appreciate it if you reviewed! Thnx!

Illusions Of Civilization

Chapter 1: I Take An Arrow To The Knee

Concentration…Coordination…Control…

"Daddy,I can't play on a soccer team! Everyone will make fun of me!"

"And why is that?"

"Because…because I'm bad at it," the little girl crossed her arms.

"Want to know the secret to being a great soccer player?" the father gave her a mischievous smile.

Concentration…Coordination…Control…

"Yes!" his daughter's head bobbed up and down with excitement.

"Think like your opponent. What would they do? They'll try to trick you. Examine their habits,their mistakes,their personality. Are they kind team players? Or are they prideful,one-man team players?"

"And? That's it?" her eyebrows scrunched together in disappointment.

"Remember these words:Concentration. Coordination. Control. It'll help you with a lot more than just soccer."

Concentration…Coordination…Control…

"When will I use it?"

Her father stared off into the distance,his smile slowly fading away,"You'll use it when the time is right."

His little cat-eyed girl seemed confused. "But promise me one thing,honey," the girl's eyes went wide in curiosity,"Don't ever stop fighting for what's right. Even when everyone else tells you it's wrong,or makes fun of you for it. Even when the other team plays unfair,and all hope seems lost,don't stop fighting. Ever."

"I promise."

My heart was pounding incredibly fast. My legs were controlling every slight kick to move the ball. Dizzying images of lush,green grass and a black & white sphere flashed with lightning speed.

"Krystle!" I ignored the yells of my teammates. Forget the past. Focus on the present. Concentration…Coordination…Control…The drizzle of the September rain stung my eyes,but also hid the tears that were threatening to fall down. Memories are just barriers. Don't let them come. Don't let them come. Don't let them–

"KRYSTLE! I'M OPEN!" Lizzie yelled,startling me. I lost control,and slipped on the muddy ground. One of the other players leaped over my leg,and started directing the the ball in the other direction. I closed my eyes and sighed. I propped myself on my elbows,and grabbed a hand that was offered to help me up.

"I screwed up big time,didn't I?" I asked the player who got me to my feet. When I looked up,I saw someone I didn't expect to see. Fringe bangs framed striking coffee eyes and a borderline devilish face. I could tell he was a player from the other team,because he was wearing a white jersey with purple lining.

"Nah,you didn't screw up. That much. Although,if I were you,I would try to keep my eyes on the ball next time." He smiled cockily,and ran off back into the game. I blinked a couple of times on disbelief,and threw myself back into the match.

I ran around the field,trying to get close to the player who had the ball. A girl with short,black hair currently had the ball. I noticed that she was looking around for someone to pass it to,when her eyes landed on someone on the far end of the field. I realized she was throwing her leg back in ready position to produce a massive kick,when I slid easily under her leg,kicked the ball,and did a backwards summersault before she rearranged my face.

Yelena had got control of the ball,and started dodging players. The opposing team captain was coming up from behind her,when I signaled for Yelena to pass me the ball. At the last second,she got rid of the ball,when the guy who helped me up came between us. He began to lead the ball at a speed that would've earned him a ticket if he was driving.

This wasn't good. If he scored a goal,we would have absolutely no chance of winning. The game was set at 4-3,and if I could score a goal and at least get a draw,I wouldn't give up that chance. This game meant finals,and I refused to lose today.

I ran past him,and caught up to one of my other teammates,"Krystle!" my friend Shauna yelled from the bleachers. She wore a grey hoodie over her thick,black curls,"What are you doing?" her boyfriend,AJ,was looking at me with the same expression. I couldn't answer back,because I was trying to carry out a quick plan that would probably never work,but was worth a shot. Anything was worth a shot at the last thirty seconds of the game. Anything.

I ran over to Linda,my least favourite player on the team. I knew we didn't get along,but right now it didn't matter,"Quick,what's that guy's name?"

"Which guy,the one that has the ball?" she asked. She twirled a honey-blonde strand of hair around her finger,like there was all the time in the world.

"Yeah,what's his name?" I said under gritted teeth. I was running out of time,and Linda could care less.

"His name is Nathan. Gosh,if you want to date him that bad,you–" I didn't get to hear the rest of her sentence,because I raced in front of Nathan as fast as I could. My heart pounded like crazy,and my chest rose and fell so deeply,I was afraid that my lungs were going to collapse then and there.

I yelled out his name to distract him,"Hey! Nathan!" he looked up in confusion,and and I took my opportunity. My legs laced effortlessly to retrieve the ball,and the last thing I saw before I dashed off was Nathan's mouth drop open in shock.

Concentration…Coordination…Control…

"Don't shoot Krystle!" Lizzie screamed,"You'll can't make the shot! There's not enough time!" I was too stubborn to listen. This was the decision-making game of the season. Win,or lose,and I had my mind set on win. Besides,I had this pretty much figured out. I had it under control,right?

Wrong.

"This is for you dad," I muttered to myself. I flung my right leg back so far,I would be surprised if I didn't end up in a stretcher afterwards. The moment my foot connected with the soccer ball,it was the most glorious moment of my life. The momentum of the ball was amazingly perfect. I felt like everything went in slow motion for a few moments,but the moment was short-lived. The goalie had already gotten a head start on his jump,and hugged the ball to his chest as he caught it. My jaw dropped open as the whistle blew.

That was it. Game over. Done. Terminado. We lost,and it was all my fault. All because I hadn't listened to what Lizzie said. I dropped down to my knees,and I just gawked at the net in utter shock. Cheers erupted from the left side of the bleachers and the opposing team.

I felt a hand rub my shoulder,and a figure bent down to their knees. "Look," I turned my head to once again meet Nathan's face,"I know I was kind of a jerk earlier–"

"Yeah," I interrupted him,"kind of. But you won't have to worry about being a jerk,because you guys are going to the finals in New York and the you'll probably win the trophy and then all the girls will like you and you'll probably get married to some hot model or something and totally forget about being a jerk." Once I was done with my ramble,I swiveled my head to look at Nathan. His eyebrow was raised in confusion,and his mouth was slightly open. I noticed he took out a dog tag from under his shirt,and started rubbing it like he was nervous.

As he stared down at his necklace,I reached towards the bump under my black and red striped shirt. Underneath my shirt,in every game,I wore the necklace that my dad gave me. It was the only thing that I had that belonged to him. It was a thick black dog tag with a star etched in the corner. The North Star. I never knew why he gave it to me,but I never got the chance to ask him.

"As I was saying," he continued,"have you ever been to New York before?" he put his hands together,and awaited my answer.

"Um…no. No,I have not. Why?"

"Well,I was wondering if you would like to come to the finals in New–" he was cut short again,because screams were heard from the other side of the field. Everybody started scrambling around as silver arrows shot out of the trees beside the field. I tried to see who was sending the shower of arrows into the field,when somebody threw them self and tackled me.

"What the hell!" I fussed around,and looked up. AJ got himself off of me,his brown curls soaking wet. His amber eyes squinted under the rain that was hitting the floor hard,and pointed behind me. I looked backwards,and saw one of the gleaming arrows lodged in the ground.

"You can thank me later," he said,and helped me off the grass. I looked around,and saw Nathan standing on the bleachers with a bow,launching arrows back into the woods. I heard a faint but high-pitched scream come from the forest,but didn't get a chance to get a closer look. I searched for Shauna,but she was nowhere to be seen. I hoped that she had gotten out of the line of fire before we had noticed.

"We need to get behind the bleachers!" AJ said as he dodged another arrow,as if he did this for a living. "We'll be safe once we get there! Run on my count,alright?" he was practically screaming over the zip of the arrows,and the thunder that sounded off in the distance. The once slight drizzle of rain now turned into a violent storm. The team banners were flailing in the wind,and everybody was driving away in their cars past the hill.

"One…Two…" AJ snapped me out of my thoughts,and broke into a run the moment he yelled out 'three.' I,however,ran about five years too late,because the next thing I know,something shot by knee. I froze in fear,but mustered up the strength to look down. My knee looked perfectly intact,except for the slight mud and grass sticking to it. Behind my knee,though,was another arrow in the dirt,still vibrating from the impact.

It went right through me. How is that even possible? I finally saw who was sending the oh-so flattering invitation for a fight. Dozens of girls in grey and silver clothing came out of the woods,all with quivers strapped to their backs. Their eyes were searching the field for something. Or rather,someone. Their gaze landed on me,and they all reached for a bow. I didn't stick around too long,as much as I wouldn't have gotten hurt by the silver weapons. I broke into a run,my arms empowering me more and more with each passing second. I was about to hide behind the bleachers,when someone's weight the equivalent of a ton of bricks was thrown against my own weight.

It must've been 'National Tackle-Krystal-Vasquez-Whenever-Possible Day',because that was the third time I was tackled to the ground (the first time was with the team mascot. Trust me,you don't want to know). I started wrestling with the body,and started kicking and throwing punches randomly. I got my hair out of my face for a second,and saw who had brought me to the floor. A girl with short,spiky black hair was trying to hold me down. Her blue eyes were twice as scary with the scowl she had on her face. She seemed to be about my age,but with the strength she was exerting,I was finding that thought very unlikely.

I shook myself out of my trance,and finally sent a good old-fashioned punch to her jaw. Her whole entire body rolled down the hill. I caught my breath for a second,and looked down the hill. The girl was cradling her jaw,but she didn't seem to worried about it. Her gaze met mine,and boy,did she have a murderous look in her eyes. After what just happened,she had the nerve to look angry at me. I was about to run to Shauna,AJ,and Nathan,when the bow & arrow girls got within a closer radius.

"What's your problem?" I said,and was about to throw another punch at one of the girls,when a hand grabbed mine. I tried to shake their hand off,but they had a firm grip.

"Krystle," Shauna warned me,"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Her honey eyes had a half-pleading,half-furious look in them. She was seriously ticked off,but not at me. Suddenly,she threw me to the ground,whirled around,took out her gold earring,and aimed the needle part at the throat of the girl who I punched earlier. The moment she did that,a girl came up from behind me,and put my arms behind my back,like I was being handcuffed.

"Now,now," the hunters (I honestly had no idea what else to call them) stepped aside,and let a younger girl come through. She seemed to be about twelve or thirteen. Her eyes were glowing an eerie silver,the same colour as the bow she had in her hands. She strapped it on her back,and put her hands up in sign of surrender,"there is no need to threaten my lieutenant."

"Yeah,well,your lieutenant tried to kill my friend," Shauna's grip got tighter on the girl's waist to make her stop squirming.

"Oh,but we all know that she is much more than just your friend," one of the girls spat out. She faced me,and squinted her eyes in and irked manner. "You don't even know what your capable of,do you? You're a menace to the reign of the gods–"

"Listen," Shauna dug the needle a little deeper into the lieutenant's throat,"she may be a threat to your gods,but right now,I'm a threat to your lieutenant. So,my suggestion is that you let go of Krystle,otherwise I'm feeding the daughter of Zeus to your own wolves with my freakin' earring." Thunder boomed off in the distance,making me jump slightly. I looked off to my side,and saw the girls exchanging glances. Their leader nodded her head in a silent agreement.

I felt the pressure release from my arms,and at the same time,Shauna let go of the punk hunter. We both walked past each other,giving each other dirty looks. Shauna quickly put her earring back on. She got a stiff grip on my wrist,and started running. I was amazed at how fast she could run in her high-heel boots. She got into the passenger side of the van,with AJ driving. I jumped inside,hearing the scraping,and BOOM of the door as Nathan shut it.

AJ floored the gas pedal,and I would've hit my head on the seat,had I not put my seatbelt on when I did. We started speeding off onto the dirt road. I craned my neck to look through the window,to see if those girls were still on the field. I saw that they had set up a temporary campsite,and seemed to be treating some wounded girl. She was probably the one who had screamed in the forest. Good for her I thought.

Ω*Ω*Ω

The window wipers were going back and forth,working double time for the storm that had brewed. Heavy,clear drops of rain clouded the windows. My kidnappers (a.k.a. my friends,excluding Nathan) had briefly explained what was going on. Apparently,my brain had to process the fact that some ancient gods still existed,and that they were after me. Why,however,I had no idea.

"So,let me get this straight," I said as I struggled to slip into my jeans in the back of the van,"we…are attacked by a bunch of–ugh,stupid jeans–sorry,hunters of a Greek goddess,and you just expect me to let it slide. Forget all about it? Do you honestly think that–"

"Krystle," AJ said,keeping his eyes on the road,"those hunters were there for one reason,and one reason only. They were there to kill you–"

"Which gives me even more of a reason not to forget."

"No,it gives us even more a reason to go to New York–"

"NEW YORK?" Shauna said,gawking at AJ like he grew a second head. "AJ,you are honestly losing your mind. We can't take her to New York! Maybe if we want her to die young–"

"–Extremely young!" I added as I pulled on a white cotton shirt,even though I didn't exactly know what they were talking about.

Shauna smiled and chuckled for a second,"Thank you for supporting me,Krystle. As I was saying,HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MARBLES? New York is where," her head darted back and forth,like she was expecting a hunter to pop up. She lowered her voice,"they live! Why would we run straight into enemy territory?"

AJ didn't respond for a while. I was afraid he was going to crash or something,because there was a blank look in his eyes. He eventually pulled over on the side of the highway,and unbuckled his seatbelt. He sighed deeply,and looked at Shauna,"Now that they know that not only she exists,but us too,they're gonna send their kids after us. Send their 'heroes' after us. So we need to get–"

"Weapons,right?" Shauna asked,her eyes wide in fear. I had never seen any of them so scared (or out of whack). Shauna and AJ were only two years older than me,but they made it seem like they had lived a whole lifetime in just eighteen years.

"Um,whatever this is about,I trust my life more or less with you two," I pointed my fingers to the front seat,and layered on my blue tank top,"but I certainly don't trust my life with this dude." I looked at at Nathan with a strong glare,"He offered for me to go to New York."

Nathan shook his head,and turned his body around to face me,"Look,I asked you if you wanted to go to New York because of the tournament,not because I was trying to get you killed! I didn't even know that New York was the base of the gods! Oh,and for your information,Shauna and AJ," he took out the silver dog tag from the jeans he changed into,"we already have weapons."

I rolled my eyes,and climbed back into the middle row of seats,"Yeah,Nathan,your dog tag is such a good weapon. You can just use it to choke your enemy until their eyes are bulging out of their eyes sockets like goldfish," I spat out,with as much sarcasm you could possibly concentrate into one sentence. He stretched out the chain,and it turned into a wicked bow. It seemed to be made of ivory,and there was some sort of engraving carved into it. It transformed back into the tag too fast for me to lean in and read.

I nodded my head,"I stand corrected. You do have weapons."

"No we don't," Shauna scooted in her seat,"You had only one celestial bronze arrow,and that's what hurt one of the hunters. We had to play a mind game. Like my earring," she rubbed it harshly,"they probably thought it was imperial gold,not fourteen karat gold. We need to get real weapons for a real battle. Besides,Krystle needs a weapon,too."

"Okay,lets make a plan," AJ looked at us,one by one. "We go to New York. Nathan stays with Krystle,while Shauna and I sneak past the camp borders. We'll steal some celestial bronze weapons,and get the heck out of there as fast as we can."

"How exactly do you expect to get past the borders?" Nathan crossed his arms. AJ gave him a cocky smile,and zipped open his black windbreaker. He pulled out a small bottle,filled with what looked like sand.

"This," he shook the bottle,"will save us the trouble of digging underneath the camp to get in. Unlike last time–"

"Wait," I shook my head,"you've done this before? And when did you dig under an entire camp?"

"Long story. Let's just say,last time,it wasn't your best 'happy camper' experience. It left us with marks." He lifted up the curls that hung slightly over his forehead. Underneath,a flame and lightning bolt were branded near his hairline. Shauna lifted up her leg,rolled up the jean material,and took off two straps of her ankle boot. She revealed a branded symbol on her left ankle. A design of five chain links and a peacock feather were etched in her caramel skin.

"It felt worse than it looks cool," Shauna said through clenched teeth. She roughly strapped the leather bands back on her shoe,and pushed her leg back down angrily. AJ gave her a comforting look,although she was too busy crossing her arms and glowering outside.

An awkward silence fell over us. All you could hear was the drumming of the rain and the squeaking of the window-shield wipers. I finally broke the silence,"What do those symbols mean?" I said in a pre-cautious tone.

Shauna was in a stance like she was about to scold me for eating the last cookie. An arm pushed her back gently,and AJ faced me. "Those marks," he blinked a couple of times,"remind us of who we are. They–"

"As in the filthy-playing Greek gods," Shauna interrupted.

"–gave us these,so no one can mistake us for who we are. We're branded as threats. Monsters. Disgraces to civilization."

I got scared for a moment. What kind of monsters could they be? After what they told me,I was kind of afraid that they weren't the kind of monsters that were put on store display on Halloween,"But you're not monsters…right?"

"To them,yes. Yes we are. To you,or anyone else of our kind,no. They're just afraid that we'll help take back control of everything. That's what they did this out of. Fear. Fear that the other gods would ever come into contact with us. Fear that their children will turn on them. Fear that they won't be able to save their precious creation of a world. Little do the know,they're the reason why everything is upside-down."

"So,that's why we're heading back to the camp. To get ready." Shauna snapped her seatbelt back on. Nathan and AJ followed her example,but I put my hand on AJ's shoulder.

I took in a good breath of air,"I'll help you. With whatever this is,I'm willing to support you guys. On one condition," I stared at the couple,and back at Nathan. "You guys promise not to get hurt again. Don't come back with new marks."

They all took a good stare at one another,and answered back all at once,"We promise."

So…where is this going? NEW YORK! And we ALL (or most of us,anyways) know what-or rather who-lives in New York ;D. Review,review,review. And favourite,if your interested in the story,and want to know what happens next! L8r Sk8rs!

!#$%^&*~Kay Em Zee