Mark laughed. "We'll see about that." the young boy got up from the ground and ran over to Chiron for protection. Clarisse glared at Mark. She reached over and grabbed a sword from who Mark assumed was her brother. Mark didn't know what he was doing, so rather, he watched as Clarisse made the first move and fought back against Mark. Mark avoided each attack and kicked Clarisse in the chest, sending her into her siblings. The fight ticked on for what seemed like hours until a crowd appeared. Mark once again disarmed Clarisse and pointed the sword directly at her. The shock in her eyes made her stop trying to fight back. It was fairly clear that they were evenly matched.

"I will not ask again. Who are you?" as if to answer her question, the crowd gasped, confused. Mark looked around and saw that Clarisse was not only shocked but also pissed off. "Oh, come on!"

"What's everyone looking at?" Mark looked up and above his head he saw a red symbol of a boar. Grover and the rest of the group that Mark was with early were staring wide eyed at the sight.

"All hail Mark Fischbach! Son of Ares, the god of war!" all around him, everyone bowed, making Mark feel strange. The young man Mark saved walked up to him.

"Thank you Mark," he said. "I'm Ethan, son of Hermes. It's great to meet you." Ethan held out his hand and Mark politely took it and they shook.

"Nice to meet you." 

***

Sean and Alex had been making their way toward the Hades cabin when he saw someone standing in the shadows. Sean stopped mid-step and stared in awe as the figure seemed to vanish and reappear like some sort of apparition.

"Sean?" Alex said. "What are you looking at?"

"Don't you see him?" Sean asked as he pointed toward the shadow. Alex glanced over and saw nothing more than the shadows of the tree. Shaking his head, Alex didn't seem to believe in him, but Sean swore he saw someone standing there. Sean looked back at the shadow when he swore he heard something or someone speak to him.

Only you can see me, son. The stranger said, causing Sean to do a double take; he turned to find that Alex was still walking. He'd expected Alex to at least react. Shaking his head, he and Alex continued to walk until they got to a depressing cabin. Alex stopped in front of the doorway and held out his hand, introducing it to Sean.

"Welcome to the Hades Cabin!" Alex exclaimed. "I'll let you settle in, Sean. I'm going to talk with my friend, Grover." Alex left Sean alone, allowing him to walk into the cabin. It was dark and a large statue of whom he assumed was Hades stood overlooking the bunks. Sean did his best to ignore the statue, but it emitted some sort of energy that he did not like. Sean set his stuff down and sat on the bunk, he lied down on the bed and started staring up at the ceiling.

"Rough day?" a voice said. Sean sat up, practically hitting his head on the bunk. He groaned and rubbed his head. Sean looked over at the man who just so entered the cabin. He was pale and wore a long purple cloak that showed off his muscles. His eyes were coal black, almost close to soulless, and his hair had gone down over his shoulders.

"Dad?" Sean said, surprised.

"Hello son." Hades responded and walked over to Sean. He sat down next to him and while Sean wanted to say a few things, he found he couldn't find the words he needed. "You may know me as my counterpart Aed or Aodh, but at the time I met your mother, I showed myself as you see now." Sean clenched his hands into fists and it took all his willpower not to blow up but he found it hard to keep that at bay. Hades chuckled, all the anger that Sean had was ready to come out. Ready to burst, but he feared he would never get to see what it was like to have a normal family and worried that his father would be angry.

"Well, thanks for nothing, Dad," Sean said with distaste. "You've only been hiding in the shadows! What brings you here now?!" Hades' black eyes flared purple in anger, causing Sean to shrink back against his bed. The flaring purple eyes dissipated, and Hades focused more on his son.

"Someone more powerful than my family has taken Ares' sword," he explained. "I need you to find it and bring it back." Thoughts circled through Sean's mind. He'd just gotten to the camp and now his father wanted him to fetch the sword of Ares. How would he even know where to begin? Hades told Sean that he had to leave and that he'd look out for him on his mission despite Zeus not wanting any of the gods to come in contact with their children. Sean held out his hand like a child, desperately wishing that he could give his father a hug. But unsure of how Hades would respond, Sean backed off and watched as his father faded into darkness. Letting out a long sigh, Sean lied back down and tried to get himself to fall asleep. Finding it hard to do, his stomach growled. It took Sean a while to realize that he hadn't eaten all day. Forcing himself to his feet, Sean walked out of the cabin and made his way to the dining pavilion he saw when he and Mark entered the camp.