I was outside a castle, well, atleast I think it's a castle. It was a obsidian black fortress. Was this olympus, or were the gods going goth. I took a step and realized I didn't have legs. Actually, I didn't have a body at all. I floated over to the black castle but stopped all at once. The floor began to rumble and the castle shook violently. What the hell was this? The ground around the castle started to crack. In an instant, the huge castle fell through the ground, carrying me along with it. Well, looks like I was dying a second time. I blacked out before reaching the ground. I didn't feel like I was floating anymore. I felt like I was lying on a soft bed. I debated on opening my eyes, I was still in that zone of not wanting to stop sleeping right away.

"I know your awake, Sea breeze." I cursed silently and opened my eyes. Sunlight poured into them and I shielded them. Once my eyes adjusted I looked around. I was in a huge field, under some trees. I could make out some small building a little ways out. Astroid sat next to me, resting against the base of a large pine. The breeze lightly blew through her striking red hair.

"So, this is what elysium looks like. Nice place."

She laughed. "You're not dead, dummy. This is camp half-blood."

I sighed and laughed, relieved and overjoyed. Somehow I managed to survive. I quickly looked down at my chest. Instead of my original shirt, I had an orange T-shirt that read: Camp half-blood on it in bold print. I lifted the shirt up and gasped. The place where I had been impaled by the manticore's tail was now fully healed. It was like the injury never happened. I touched my shoulder and moved my arm. It was also healed. "Didn't I get like snapped up in that battle? How is all this stuff healed?"

Astroid winced."Yeah. It was bad." She smiled warmly. "But we gave you some Nectar and your cuts healed instantly. You were asleep out here for a while so everyone decided to go about there business till' you woke up." She paused. Her cheeks slightly glew pink. "You were really cool out there by the way. I think you may be the son of zues or poseidon. But if you really are the child of prophecy--"

"What's that? The child of prophecy?" I inturruppted.

She sat up, rubbing the blades of grass from her hair. "It's a long, confusing riddle, but we think we deciphered it. What we think it says it that a half-blood that has the traits of the big three will rise and defeat the lord of time."

"Who's the lord of time?"  I asked

She paused and swallowed hard before saying it. "The titan Cronus. But that's were it doesn't make sense. Cronus was defeated by Percy Jackson about two years ago. He was literally blown to ash and carried of in the wind. There is no way he could have reformed for about another billion centuries."

This got my attention."Percy Jackson. Who is he exactly?"

She stared up into the clouds. "The god's talk a hell of alot about him for starters. Mostly my dad. They had a fight a few years back, which percy won."

"Damn. Who's your dad again?"

"Ares, god of war. They made a video game based on him."

"I believe he was the main villain."

She smiled. "Yeah. But anyways, Percy Jackson was supposedly the strongest half-blood on the camp. He was a son of Poseidon, so he got all these cool ocean based abilities and what not. I could tell you a million stories about Percy."

"Where is he right now?"

"He's actually coming back here. Since all this Prophecy stuff is going on and Cronus is still a possible threat, we need him here." I felt pretty excited. I would get to meet him. Astroid got up and stretched. Man, was she beautiful. Way to beautiful....

"Hey, Astroid."

She turned to me. "What's up?"

I paused. This was kinda embarrassing for me. "Um, by any chance....are you like....in any way related to....um....Aphrodite?"

She blushed furiously. Don't blame me, blame my impulsiveness. "My mom....she was a daughter of Aphrodite." She smiled. "It was an accident really. That my mom and dad met. You know that my dad is dating Aphrodite right, so they had a little argument. Ares was getting all pissy about how my mom was making children with other men and junk. So being his childish self, he went and made me...with one of Aphrodite's daughters."

"Isn't that kinda like inbreeding?"

"Mentally, yes. Genetically, no. Gods don't have any DNA since they can change there physical form at any given moment. Have you ever noticed you look nothing like one of your parents?" Now that I think about it, me and my dad looked nothing alike. I looked like my mom. I guess my dad is the godly parent then. Bummer.

"So, what powers do you have?" I asked.

Astroid grinned. She held out her hand and focused hard. a small flame crawled up her fingers. I backed up. The flame grew as she focused harder. Sweat dripped from her forehead. "Now watch this!" The flames began to condense and move around. It was shaping something. The flame was now a fiery orange ball. It began to change shape again, flattening out along her palm and traveling up to the tip of her finger. Now, a blazing blue ball of flame hovered abover her pointer finger.

"That was sick!" I said. She blew the flame out.

"That's my Ares power. I also have some Aphrodite powers." She bent down and looked me in the eyes. I suddenly couldn't move or speak. My face felt  blazing hot and my heart raced. How was she doing this. "It's called Charm Stare. Im in your head kid."

I laughed. "Nope, your just in my skull, my brain is staring at you."

She blinked. "Did it not work or something?"

I shook my head. I could barely take my eyes of her. "It worked, it's just that im weird." I shrugged

She got back up and dusted of her baggy jeans. "If I were the real Aphrodite you wouldn't stand a chance."

I wasn't listening, I swiveled my head left and right, were was my awsome sword?! Don't tell me I left it back by the hill! I felt a lump in my pocket. I dug in my pocket for a few seconds and felt the mechanical pencil. I pulled it out and breathed a relieved sigh. "Hey Astroid, here's your sword back."

"Keep it. It was made specifically for you by Hephaestus anyway. forged from a part of Zues master bolt, Stygian iron and celestial bronze. Did I mention it was made by Hephaestus himself." I took a better look at it. The katana was around four feet long. It had a soft cord wrap and a golden gaurd. The edge of the sword was a gleaming bronze and the blade ridge was jet black like night. The point and the curved edge were the strangest part. It glowed a bright blue with pure energy. I touched it, cutting my finger with the extreme sharpness of the sword. This sword was crazy powerful! I grinned, sucking on my bleeding finger. 

"How do I put it back in pencil form?" I said, my finger still in my mouth.

"Rotate the gaurd clock-wise." I did as she said. The huge sword shrank down into a miniature version of itself, then morphed into a mechanical pencil once again. I stuffed it in my pocket. Welcome aboard, Sea Storm. "That sword is enchanted by the way. If you loose it or anything, it'll reapear in your pocket one minute after it's over five meters away from you. And if you dont have pockets well..."

"It doesn't reappear?"

She shook her head. "You would think that. But actually what happens is that it wall fall from the sky directly above you after a minute. In blade form. So if you don't see it coming....well..." 

"You get minced. Got it. Ill make sure to always wear pants."

"Good, now come on. We gotta get you introduced to the camp." Astroid began to walk and I followed. We were at the camp in less than a minute. " I think I said this before, but welcome to camp half-blood." The camp looked awsome. Cabin's were scattered around the grounds like a summer camp.There were teens walking in and out of there cabins. Suddenly all eyes turned to me. 

"Hey, it's the kid that killed the manticore." I heard a voice say from the crowd of people begining to circle around us. "You think he's the kid from the prophecy?" I heard another voice say.

I couldn't help but smirk a little. I had respect. Suddenly the crowd began to cheer and applaud. My ears glowed scarlet and I grinned wide. They were cheering for me. I was actually noticed for once. But suddenly the cheering and applauding stopped.The crowd parted and I felt an intimidating presence. A tall girl, about 16 or 17 approached me and Astroid. Her hair was a dirty blond/brownish color and she was kinda muscular. She towered over me and I could swear I could feel the energy coming from her body. It was scary. She stared down at me, arms crossed.

"You the kid that defeated that manticore?"

I nodded. "That's right. I sliced it's face wide open."

She laughed. "That's nothing. I killed a Drakon in combat once."

Astroid joined in. " Leave him alone, Clarisse. He's new."

She grinned. "Oh is he now? That's great! He can be in the CTF game."

"May I ask, what that is?"

She stared daggers at me. "Capture the flag. Since your knew, I wont use mamer 2.0--"

"Wait, what is that? What is mamer 2.0"

Astroid put her hand on my shoulder. "Doesn't matter. You can't enter that CTF game with Clarisse. She's way more experienced than you."

I ignored Astroid. "What is mamer 2.0?"

Clarisse grinned. "My spear. Now with two times the explosive electrical power. It can kill."

A grin sprouted across my face. "Use it."

"If I use it, you might die kid."

I whipped out Sea Storm. The cosmic black blade reflected the blazing green power in my eyes. "My Sea Storm versus your Mamer 2.0. Let's see who wins."

Clarisse smiled. "You've got the determination of a Ares child!" She held out her hand. "Clarisse."

I took it. Her grip was strong, but her hand was soft like a girls. "Zeph." Astroid probably thought I was an idiot. Clarisse's power was intimidating. She was definently way more skilled than me. But I still wanted to battle her. The same way I wanted to battle the Manticore. Clarisse walked away, twirling a tiny cylinder in her fingers. When she was out of sight I turned to Astroid. "I know what your gonna say. Im impulsive so I wasn't thinking before I spoke."

She sighed. "If you're gonna be in this CTF game, we need to get you geared up, also Mr.D wanted to see you."

I scratched the back of my head. "What do you mean?"

"I gotta show you where your cabin is. Since you haven't been claimed yet, we have to put you in the unclaimed cabin. Last year we just threw them in the Hermes cabin but with all the unlcaimed demi-gods that we got, we had to build a whole new cabin."

I sniffed my armpits and my nose scrunched up disgust."Let's go quick. I smell like a barn animal."

Astroid led me through the camp rounds. We past a few cabins. About 15 kids filed in and out of their cabins. Damn, this place was packed. I was excited to see the people who I was with. We reached a cabin that was out further from the rest. It was a big wooden cabin that rested at the end of the woods. I could already tell no one was in there. I guess I was the only unclaimed kid or something. "well...this is it. They didn't put much work into it since kids are usually claimed within a week of arriving, so this is only temporary. Maybe you'll get claimed la er on today when your godly parent sees you in the CTF game."

"It's cool. Ill go meet that Mr.D dude after I shower." I turned to walk towards the cabin.

"Uh, wait." She held out a backpack she had been carrying. She dug the tip of her sneaker into the soft dirt. She looked so cute. "Here's some stuff, to get you settled in and stuff."

I took the backpack. She seemed shy so maybe I could experiment, to see if it was because of me. "Did you do this yourself, Astroid?"

She blushed softly. "It was nothing, really! Just some things you'll need to get you settled in."

"Thanks. A lot." I said sincerely. I meant it. I was pretty sure I was blushing a little bit too.

"Uh, I gotta run. Um, welcome to camp half-blood again. Ill see you later at the CTF game." Astroid waved to me as she ran off in the other direction. My heart was still thumping in my chest like a drum. Once I got over the feeling, I made my way into the cabin.

It was small and cozy, with a fire place and twin bunk bed's on either side of the room. Over to the side was the bathroom with a shower calling to me. I through my bag on the bed and stripped my clothes off, assuming I was the only one in the cabin. As the warm water fell on me, it rolled down my skin in streams. Almost like my skin was water proof. I also felt oddly calm as the water rolled of my head. I lost track of time and hopped out of the shower. I smelt fresh. I through my Camp-half blood T-shirt back on over a long sleeve shirt and put on some jeans. I didn't bother unpacking my bag since I would probably be outta here later on today, however I did look through it. I was curious to see what Astroid packed. There was a few T-shirts, some pajamas, a bottle of golden liquid, another bottle of what seemed like water, and a Ziplock bag with marsh mellow like pastries in them. Wow. She made all this for me? I dug in some more and pulled out the picture of my parents. She even remembered the picture.

I felt for Sea Storm in my pocket. I felt safe with the awesome sword with me. I took a deep breath and walked out of the cabin. My next priority was meeting Mr.D. I also wanted to see Chiron to make sure he was alright. I passed a couple cabins. Kids occasionally stared my way. I decided to ask around to see if anyone knew where this Mr.D dude was. But, I didn't have to. Chiron galloped over to me. A goofy smile plastered to his face. "Zephyros. You look better than ever!" I was relieved to see that he was alright.

"Mr.Wright! I mean, Chiron. I was beginning to think that Lion ate you."

He laughed. "Nonsense my boy! It was an easy kill. But from what I heard from Astroid, you had an epic battle. She also said how you were controlling the storm. Sounds like a son of Zeus or Poseidon. This definitely intrigues the director."

"Who's that? Mr.D?"

He nodded. "Did Astroid tell you to meet with him?"

"Yeah. But I'm not sure where the guy is."

"Follow me then." Chiron galloped and I followed beside him. We came to a bright blue house. The wood looked old and the windows were dusty. But that's besides the point. A man that looked in his late 20's, brown hair and a leopard skin shirt, sat outside on the porch, fingers moving furiously on a small hand held devices. Chiron scratched the back of his head. "Mr.D, Zephyros is here."

"Yes, yes. Come here child." He said.

"Go ahead." Chiron motioned. I walked towards Mr.D. The powerful smell of wine filled my nostril. It made me a little tipsy but I was used to it. My aunt always smelled like alcohol when she came home. He handed me a drink.

"Uh, I don't drink."

"It's a pepsi." He said blankly, staring down at the hand held game. I took it and took a sip. It tasted bland. Probably diet. "So I've heard that you defeated the manticore? Is that right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sir. I saved Astroid actually."

He sighed. "ah, hero's. They'll take what they want, causing death and destruction in the process as long as there goal is met. Your all the same."

I scratched my head. "I'm not a hero. I don't really want to be one anyway. The manticore just pissed me off."

Mr.D lifted his eyes from the hand held game. It paused as he stopped playing. Suddenly he vanished into thin air. Right in front of my eyes. "Not a hero, eh?"

I turned around and he was standing behind me. teleportation. Wait a minute. The smell of wine. The godly powers. The video game. this dude had to be no one other than...."Thor."

"Dionysus. Or lord Dionysus. Ill even take Mr.Dionysus." I smacked my head stupidity. Thor wasn't even greek.

"Err, sorry. Im Zeph."

"Yes, yes. The speculated Child of Prophecy. I know. We'll see later on today."

"You mean in the CTF game?"

He nodded. "If you manage to win that or at least stand out then I'll be more inclined to believe you are really the Child of Prophecy. If you die or loose well..."

"Don't worry. I got this sweet sword made by Hephaestus." I took out Sea Storm and extended the Katana to full size. Mr.D gasped.

"This is Tempestate. Made only for the child that has the traits of the big three. Meaning only they can wield the blade. If any other person tries to use this, they'll be turned to ash. This raises my suspicion that you are the Child of Prophecy."

"Cool." I turned the blade back into its pencil form and put it in my pocket. "That Clarisse chick. Who is she anyway?"

"A child of Ares, my brother. two years ago, that child killed a Dragon by herself." He laughed. "If you're planning on fighting her, I commend your bravery, or stupidity." Dionysus looked at his watch. "Well it seems like the game will happen right now. Chiron if you will."

"Zephyros, if your planning on attending the game. You should meet up with Astroid. She's in the Sword Play Arena." He said. I nodded and thanked Mr.D for the Pepsi. I darted down the steps of the porch but then stopped suddenly.

"Err, where's that?" After Chiron gave me directions I ran to where Astroid was. I wasn't gonna be late to win this CTF game. I kept running till I got to a circular, concrete building. I stopped and walked through the double doors. "Astroid it's time to go--" What I saw made my face glow beet red. She wiped sweat of her forehead and smiled. She was wearing torn jean shorts, and her Camp half-blood T-shirt was torn so that it only reached above her bellybutton. I guess this was her idea of training gear. She had a glowing red sword in her hand, that burst into flames and withered away. I coughed. "Well you look....battle ready."

"Shut up, Sea Breeze. Let's get going."

"Is that my new name?" I asked.

"If you want it to be." She ruffled my hair playfully as we walked together. My heart lightly pounded against my ribs. "Hey, so what did Mr.D say to you?"

"He said he believes I am the child of prophecy since only I can use the that sword without turning to ash." I paused. "Do you think I'm the Child of Prophecy, Astroid?"

She thought for a moment then turned to me. Her bright green eyes making my breath catch in my throat. "When we were attacked by the manticore, I was ready to die. But you saved us. Against all the odds you beat it. So yes, I know you're the Child of Prophecy."

I smiled. Her answer was just what I wanted her to say. "Do you think I can beat Clarisse?"

She put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "She's pretty powerful. One of the most powerful Ares kids I've ever fought. But looking at you now, I can definitely see you beating her." I could see worry in her eyes. I really wanted it to go away. I wanted her to always believe in me.

"You don't have to worry. I'm gonna pull through the same way I did against the manticore! Trust me!"

She smiled. The worry left her eyes. I liked to see her smile. It sent a warm feeling through my body, making me want to smile too. I was truly happy that I met Astroid. We came to a large crowd of people near the edge of the camp by a forest of trees and brush. Chiron stood in the center of the circular crowd.

"Today camp, we will be having a Capture the Flag match to brush up on our strategizing skills. Instead of cabins versus cabins, today it is team choice. Blue team's flag will sit at the north side of the forest, by the stream. Red teams flag will sit near were Zeus's Fist. Now pick your teams campers!" As soon as he said this, almost everyone moved to one side, leaving only a handful of us on the other. The kids on our side fidgeted nervously.

"Why did everyone go on that side?" I asked.

"It's because Clarisse's leading their team." Said a boy next to me. He looked a tad bit older than me, with spikey blond hair and bushy eyebrows. He was covered with armor from head to toe. He looked like he was prepared for an epic battle.

"Clarisse really fearsome then, huh?"

"You must be new. Anyone who has seen her in battle wouldn't say something so stupid."

I sighed. "We've got this. If I haven't seen her in battle, that's better because I won't know what to be afraid of."

he frowned. "That doesn't change anything. She was born for war. Nothing beats that. It stupid to even think we've got a chance."

"Just you watch then. I'm definitely going to beat her." I had no idea where I got this confidence from. I guess from years of being useless and bullied, I finally have power. I wouldn't let anyone treat me like dirt anymore. I'll let my team watch me beat Clarisse!

I was breathing heavily and Astroid put a hand on my shoulder. Right. She'll be there to watch me too. Then she'll be so amazed and everyone will cheer and praise me like a friggan hero! But really, all I wanted was for Astroid to see me as someone she can rely on. Clarisse gave me a determined look and I returned it back to her. A small flame lit In my eyes that could never be extinguished. The dude next to me looked at me funny then sighed, blowing his hair out of his face. Clarisse's team headed into the woods and eventually out of sight. We waited a few minutes then headed in the opposite direction. Astroid stuck close. We stopped once we reach a pile of black, charcoal-like rocks. It had a ominous feel to it. Like this was someone's grave. A few of the campers sat down against the pile of rocks. The rest leaned against trees and practiced with their swords. None of them seemed enthusiastic about this. The Blond kid sat down against the pile of rubble an sighed.

"What's up with everyone?" I asked.

"You don't get it, do you, noob?" His eyes narrowed and he held his head down. "There like this all the time. The ones that are to slow to get a spot on Clarisse's team. There's no point in trying when you know it doesn't matter. The best we can do is take out a few of her team, then let them take the flag-"

I clenched my fist. "There's no way in hell I'm letting them just take our freaking flag, bro!"

"Where puny bugs compared to Clarisse! Can an ant defeat a goddamn human!" He shouted.

"A spider can beat a human if it has the chance to bite! But to hell with the spider! I don't need to have a chance. I'll win regardless!" I was fuming. I stormed off. I was going to beat Clarisse one on one, and show that kid that I was dead serious. Astroid tailed behind me.

"Zeph, you can't just storm into enemy territory on you're own. That's suicide!" She was right. They greatly outnumbered us. I wouldn't last long enough to reach Clarisse on my own.

"Well, I've heard enough." He Stretched. "We three together have a 59% chance to succeed and get the enemy flag while Zephyros get's murdered by Clarisse. Alone, I have about a 19% chance to beat all these demigod scrubs. Astroid has 25% and ill give Zephyros about a 14%. So ill say are chances together are pretty damn decent considering it's like three on fifteen."

I grinned. "So you think were gonna win after all?"

He sighed. "I'm just trying ta' get you too Clarisse. You're in the ring with her, you're on your own." he pulled a cigarette from a carton in his pocket and popped it into his mouth. He didn't even light it, yet misty smoke billowed out. The smoke glistened and transformed into a rainbow mist.

"May I ask..."

"Son of Iris. The rainbow goddess. Name's Plute." he inhaled they rainbow mist and exhaled colorful puffs of cloud. His blond here suddenly shifted colors as he exhaled each puff.

"Err, what about them?" I said pointing to the remaining half bloods sitting down by the pile of crushed rocks.

Plute furrowed his brow. "They'll guard the flag from the scrubs that try to invade. Clarisse most likely wont take the flag herself. So our best option is to take the fight directly to her." He sounded as though he's been through this billions of times. He began to walk. "Let's go while they're planning their assault. We'll raid em'." He pointed his cigarette at me. "And that's when you'll go and fight Clarisse. Me and Astroid will murder--err--take out the scrubs."

"Right! You just wait and see! We're for sure gonna win this! The three of us!" I was brimming with energy. I couldn't wait to have a good taste of action. Astroid smiled. Right, she was gonna watch me beat Clarisse! Then she'll probably kiss me! I grinned.

Plute lead us to a rocky overlook above a large stream. He motioned us to get down. I crawled on my stomach and peered over the edge. I could see about seven or so half bloods. They seemed all around bored, sitting on top of rocks and talking casually. They wouldn't expect our ambush. They wouldn't expect us to take the fight to their turf. "Cocky bastards." Plute took a deep puff of his magical cigarette. Rainbow smoke orbit around his head, his hair seemed to glow a redish sort of color, similar to Astroids. Plute looked from left to right. "I don't see Clarisse. Great. This will be easy. 95% chance of success. 40% chance that Clarisse will return in between that time." He looked to Astroid and nodded. He took a long, deep breath, inhaling every remaining particle of the rainbow smoke. Suddenly his body disappeared. I was about to shout until I caught myself.

"Camouflage. That's pretty sick." I said.

The rainbow smoke hung around his invisible body. It was scentless, but it was still visible. It was sure to get him busted, especially if they already knew his power. But he seemed to have that covered. He blew the rainbow smoke out into the air. as soon as it was in free air, it was gone. Or so I thought. I peered over the ledge once more. This time, instead of just seven half bloods, I saw about 5 more, running at full speed toward the group. As soon as they noticed them, they tumbled of their resting places and were in a urgent mess. The half-blood leading the group of five grabbed the Blue teams flag and hauled it off with such quickness, it seemed inhuman.

"C-crap! Get them!" The whole group chased after them.

Plute exhaled. His body became instantly visible again. "A group's judgment is clouded when faced with a sudden urgent decision. That is why they are scrubs. No order." I had no idea what Plute was talking about.

"After mirage. Good thinking. They'll be chasing those dummies for miles."  

A gasped. Plute waved his hand and suddenly the blue teams flag reappeared. It was an illusion. Even I fell for it. "Always relying on your eyes are like relying on your legs to dodge a bullet." He slipped the cigarette into his mouth. "Headshot." He got up and slid down the small hill. Astroid and I followed. The flag was right there. No one was guarding it. We could just take it and win this right now. "We wouldn't make it back to our side of the forest." Muttered Plute as if reading my thoughts.

I paused. "Why not?"

He turned to me, his eyes brimmed with seriousness. "Clarisse wouldn't allow it. So there is no point in taking it. We might as well wait here for her to show--" Plute stopped suddenly. His eyes changed back to the unreadable look.

"You got that damn right, Plute." Behind us, Clarisse stood firmly. Her intimidating aura spread sent shivers down my spine. It was ten times that of the Manticore. My brain screamed at me, telling me to run like hell. Shut up brain. You listen to me and me only. My ADHD allowed me to talk my brain into manning the hell up. Plute took a puff of his cigarette casually. I couldn't tell what he was even thinking. "Those fools back there can have fun with your little smoke clouds. Props on getting here."

I grinned. The feeling of an upcoming battle making my insides tingle. "Clarisse. I thought you wouldn't show for a second."

She looked to me. The only armor she had on was a ancient type of Spartan helmet. "Oh, you. You wanted to fight Maimer 2.0, am I right?" She pulled a silver rod-like object from her pocket. She whipped it foreword and it extended it a big, metal spear. The spear sparked with electricity."

Plute winced. "He has no idea what he's heading into..." He muttered.

Clarisse slammed the tip of the spear into the ground. The impact boomed and sparks flew. "Zephyros! Are you prepared to face the Mighty Drakon Slayer! Are you prepared to die!"

The worried expression in Astroid's eyes returned again. "Zeph, don't fight her. Please. It isn't like fighting the Manticore. She'll literally kill you." I felt hurt. I actually thought she was the one person who believed in me. My head dropped.

"Hahaha! Is Astroid worried for the little noobie Manticore slayer! I would expect this. Your nothing but a weak offspring of Aphrodite. You don't have the right to be called a daughter of Ares." Clarisse spit on the ground. Astroid clenched her fist and squeezed her eyes shut, like she was holding back tears. Clarisse made her cry...

"Shut up." I said.

Clarisse laughed even more. "Ah, the little unclaimed upstart feels sorry for the little princess!"

"Clarisse." I tried to control my overwhelming rage. "You have no idea how close I am to losing it."

"Kid, I've one hundreds of battles. You expect me to be afraid of some noobie?"

"Everyday, I wake up and no one is home. I go to school alone. The asshole that bullies me everyday was killed in front of my eyes. My teachers think I'm stupid. I might be. I can't read for shit." The same fire that lit in my eyes when fighting the Manitcore returned again. "Do you know what it feels like to get the living shit beaten out of you? To have no one to cry too, because your drunk aunt who isn't even really your aunt is never home? But you know what, I couldn't give a shit. Because everyday I awoke into that nightmare, everyday I went into that school, Astroid was there. Even though she probably never noticed me until today, it still gave me the courage I needed to get through the day." I looked her dead in the eye. "I'm sick of being weak. I'm sick of being fricken helpless. And I NEVER want to hear you talk about Astroid like that. She's my friend. She's the my first friend actually. And so is Plute. If you ever make them feel the way I felt every day of my piece of crap life. I don't know if I'll  be able to control myself."

Astroid and Plute stared in awe. I doubt Astroid had any idea how screwed up my life was. How bad I had it. All anyone saw was an average, stupid, highschooler. Astroid wiped her eyes. "Zeph...I didn't...I had no idea..."

I smiled. "Don't worry. It doesn't matter. As long as you trust me." Plute stayed silent. He didn't look up as he took a puff of smoke.

"Who the hell..." Clarisse's face was red with pure rage. "DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" Maimer 2.0 sparked like lightning, mimicking her emotion. "You think just because you had a shitty life means that your powerful! I am Clarisse! Drakon Slayer! I'll beat the life out of you!"

I reached into my pocket and drew Tempestate. The black and bronze blade glowed bright blue with the energy of Zeus's master bolt. "Clarisse. I won't hold back. Because I told everyone I would win for them! So if you let your guard down for a second, you're finished!"

Clarisse charged at me. Her electrical spear buzzed with energy. She tried to gouge me with the spear, but I instinctively jumped out the way. Clarisse laughed. "That's right fear Maimer."

She threw the spear at me. The thing flew at me so fast, I couldn't see it. Thank the gods, I tripped and the spear sailed over my head. "Your aim is shit!" I taunted.

Clarisse smirked. "I guess it is." I got up and held Sea Storm to my side. I bolted straight for her, yelling at the top of my lungs. Once I was directly in front of her, I slash with precision, not trying to kill her. In a flash of blue light she skidded back. I got a clean hit. But then Clarisse began to laugh.

Plute closed his eyes. "This is why it was hopeless, Zephyros." He muttered to himself. Clarisse was perfectly fine. Even her cloths were perfectly fine.

"You're kidding me."

"Don't you get it? I'm invincible! That's why you don't stand a chance!"

My eyes became calmer. Almost unnaturally calm. "So that's why, huh? That's why no one can beat you. That's why you're not scared of anything. That is why you don't know what true pain feels like." I held my sword in front of me with both hands. I squeezed the sword hard, trying to control myself. It pissed me off that she thought she was the strongest. "Don't worry, Clarisse. I'll show you what pain feels like." I couldn't control it. I felt the energy flow through my chest. Clouds shifted over head. Storm clouds. As I took a step, thunder instantly boomed. As I took another, it began to pour. The rain seemed to hover around me.  Clarisse's eyes widened in bewilderment. I charged, screaming. Letting all my rage out. All the anger and pain stored from my life. the years of torment and loneliness. My blade struck her again, thunder crashed as loud as an eruption. I knocked her back a few feet. As I charged again, a sudden pain jolted my body. I looked at my shoulder and saw the tip of the spear sticking out. It buzzed to life and my vision went black. I'm not losing. No way in hell I'm losing. My vision returned, but as soon as I began to see again, another pain exploded in my ribs. I flew back, slamming into a tree. With gritted teeth, I pulled the buzzing spear from my shoulder. The electricity barely hurt at all. Blood rushed down my arm like a waterfall. I ignored it. I focused my sights on Clarisse, but she was gone.

"Where the hell are you?" I muttered in anger. It all happened so fast, my brain barely processed it. All I knew was that I was on the floor, my head throbbing with pain and my vision spinning. I felt the warm blood flow down my face. I got up again. I could see Clarisse again. She spun maimer, laughing. I ran at her again and swung, she easily parried it with her spear. I slashed like crazy, but each time she blocked it. She smacked me in the face with the back end of the spear. Then in the gut. I hunched over, gasping for air. It felt like I was suffocating. I was getting busted up, and I haven't even dealt out any damage yet. How the heck could I hurt her if she was invincible? I didn't think, I just charged.

I don't know how many times I got up and charged, only to fall back down again. I was pretty sure some of my bones were broken. My face was a bloody mess. My cloths were torn up from the constant attacks. My vision was blurry and my balance was off. Astroid yelled for me to give up and stop. As much as I hated to see her cry, if I gave up, It would be worse. So I charged again.

"Listen to the princess, noobie." She slapped me too the side with the long end of her spear. Sea Storm flew out my hands, sliding across the muddy floor. The rain made my blood flow everywhere. I crawled to grabbed it, but Clarisse kicked me in the ribs, sending me rolling. "It's over, Zephyros. You suck." I tried to get up. Clarisse grabbed me by my hair and held me up. My legs were jelly. "Listen to me. Your friends over there are trying to save you. They're weak, like you. But you're a different kind of weak. Your the kind of weak that will think of themselves as strong, then end up dying. Those losers over there are the kind of weak that will run from danger." My heart raced. She was calling my friends weak.

"Didn't I tell you what would happen if you...talk about my friends like that." I managed to spit out.

Clarisse tossed me to the ground. She stomped on my chest, driving her heel into my rib cage. "Or what? You're nothing more than a weak piece of crap under my boot. I am a true warrior of Ares! That's what you want to believe for your little weak ass friend, Astroid too huh?" She was pushing it. I was afraid of what might happen if she continued to speak. "Let me enlighten you. She is NOT a true warrior. Her birth was a mistake. Ares created her out of spite. She's timid, weak. Just like her mother. A useless child of Aphrodite. It makes me sick, to be half related to that creation." Everything was silent. All I heard was a loud ringing. My vision seemed to turn red. The hottest, most intense anger I had ever felt in my entire life rose up in my stomach.

"Clarisse....run."

she sneered. "You're still playing that tough guy act?" She dug her heel deeper into my chest. I couldn't feel it.

"Please...run."

"Shut the hell up!"She slammed the spear tip of Maimer into my chest. Just enough that it only pierced the skin. An insane explosion of lightning erupted all around me. Maimer 2.0 exploded, sending Clarisse flying back. It was too late for her. I couldn't control my rage anymore. The rage of hearing someone talk about someone you care about so badly. The rain began to become so powerful it left scratches on the bark of trees.

"Damn, what the hell kind of power is this?!" Plute exclaimed. He grabbed Astroid's arm. "Let's get to cover before we get struck by lightning!" Astroid paused for a long second the nodded, following Plute to a small, rocky overhang. Clarisse cursed in ancient greek.

"I told you never to talk about Astroid like that!" Tears rolled down my cheeks, not because I was sad, but because I wanted the anger to stop. It was built up from so many years of crap I had to put up with. It was a great weight that had to be released somehow. The tears, salty as sea water, evaporated into steam. In fact, the rain that fell within my radius turned to scorching steam. "All the bullshit I had to deal with! Astroid was the only person to give me light in my screwed up world! I'm gonna tear your invincibility out of you, then I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you!"

I ran at full speed. Everything was a blur as my legs carried me at extreme speeds. I reached into my pocket, pulling out Tempestate as I expected would be there after a minute. The blade glowed radiant blue with raging power. I slashed, screaming. I was behind Clarisse now. It was just like it those samurai movies. The tree behind her exploded in an electrical combustion. Clarisse, her self, was frozen. I threw my sword down. I had no idea what I was doing, but I heard a voice in my head, telling me the storm was my ally. I ran at her again. This time my hand was in a fist. I opened it up as I close the distance. electricity flowed threw my fingertips and tendrils of water flowed up and down my arm. The storm. It's my ally. I'll call this attack Ocean Volt. When I was nose and nose with Clarisse. I slammed my open palm Into he gut. Fear filled her eyes. Delicious fear. She knew she was gonna get screwed over by my attack. But as I looked into her eyes. I could see the true fear. The fear of death. My attack is too powerful. I forced myself to aim my palm off to the side. A blue flash of energy exploded from my hand. It was so intense, I was thrown back. As it left my palm, the deafening boom of thunder roared across the forest. The blast of power hit the cliff, the whole damn thing exploded in a shock wave of lightning and wind. Trees swayed due to the explosive force. All that power came from me? I silently thanked the gods that didn't hit Clarisse. I didn't want to kill her. I just wanted to defeat her and take the flag. I got up, my body felt like it was hit by a truck. Clarisse lay on the ground. She stared up at the sky with wide eyes. The storm clouds subsided, and a rainbow arched across the sky. In the distance, I saw Astroid and Plute heading over to me. I couldn't stand up anymore. I fell just as Astroid and Plute caught me.

"What the hell Zeph!" Cried Astroid. "I thought you were going to die! Do you know what it feels like when someone you care about gets the life beaten out of them right In front of your eyes!" She lay me down on the soft mud and cupped my mash up face. Plute's eyes were wide and his cigarette dropped out his mouth. He looked from me to Clarisse over and over again.

"You're kidding me. You're freaking kidding me."

I managed a horse laugh. " I told you...I would beat her...." Astroids eyes widened now. They were both staring directly above my head. "What's wrong with you guy's?"

"Oh my gods..." I looked above my head and couldn't believe my eyes. An aqua blue trident, a bit bigger than a text book, hovered over my head. I tried to swat at it but my hand phased right through it.

"Well, I'll be damned. look's like Percy has a little bro."

Astroid hugged me tight. My busted up face glowed redder than a fire truck. "You did great, Sea Breeze. And Mr.Chiron owes me big time!"

I blinked. "What are you guys talking about?"

"You've been claimed, silly!"