"Why NOT?" Scale yelled at the top of his lungs. The trio was standing in front of the idiot who was supposedly their protector. Scale wanted to know where that so-called protection had been when they were trapped in too-small dog crates and tortured with painful experiments. Oh, yeah, it wasn't around.

"Because, child, it would anger the gods. And cause a war."

"Oh, I should care that they'll be angry when Hoot is being kept up by nightmares and I can't help? Fine!"

Scale's rage was getting stronger and stronger until SPLASH, the sound of a wave from the fountain behind Chiron crashing onto the floor and soaking everyone in the room, aside from Scale.

Chiron's fierce glare was reacted with a snarky,

"I'm not sorry to you, Chiron." Scale spat out the name venomously and only a warning look from Hoot preventing Chiron from becoming overcooked dog food.

"I had my suspicions," Chiron merely whispered as a blue three-pronged trident glowed above Scale's head. "All hail Scale, Son of Poseidon, God of Sea."

Chiron did not get the reaction of the normal campers. Instead he got a very disinterested trio and an an angry son of the sea god.

"So, you want to separate us more now? Fine!"

Mentally, Scale thought that this lunatic centaur was lucky he and his friends had nowhere else to go.

The trio left, Scale still fuming in anger.

"Brats," the trios advanced hearing heard Mr. D. mutter after the door was slammed.

"Hey! Scale!" Thalia called running towards the trio. Scale did not want to deal with her right now but figured he had no choice.

"What?" he growled.

"Chill. All of camp already heard you yelling at Chiron. You're lucky the gods haven't struck you down to death yet. Congrats, by the way," she paused and chanced a look at Hoot and Nyx. "Well, guess you got caught in the crossfire."

"Sorry, Hoot. Sorry, Nyx. I can dry you off?" Scale offered.

"NO!" the two synced. He didn't exactly mean with his godly powers.

"It's time for breakfast. You woke up the whole camp too early. By the way," Thalia glared and punched Scale's shoulder in a way she thought was playfully. Scale thought different. That hit was too close to his wings and it reminded him of that place.

The whitecoats were always rough. Always forcing the Experiments to endure painful test and getting angry if it didn't go the way they wanted. The crates were the most humane thing there and Scale couldn't remember a time he'd actually fit properly in one. His wings had scars from various objects being thrown to see if they'd go through or hurt him. And his neck was still scarred from when they wanted to see how he reacted to different elements. Scale figured he'd never fully heal from the experiments and torture those whitecoats had forced upon him. All the times they'd grabbed his shoulder to force him in and out of his crate or to pin him down on a lab table came rushing back with Thalia's one thoughtless move.

Scale couldn't think straight. What were they going to do to him? But, it was better him than Hoot or Nyx. They didn't deserve it. His knees buckled and he was on the ground waiting for some electric shock or strike that he knew the whitecoats would record the effects of just because he was different. That was his life.

"Scale!" Thalia shouted. That wasn't right. The whitecoats never used their names. He was Subject SCAA01(1.) to them. He blinked and looked up and saw the sun and Thalia's face when his eyes came back into focus. "Did I hurt you that bad?"

Scale shook his head. "No. It's nothing. He stood up and put on a false smile. He wasn't that weak he just needed a nap.

"I think I'm just tired. Didn't sleep well last night. First time in our life we've not all been in one room during night."

"Oh, that's why you were yelling at Chiron this morning," Thalia deducted.

"Yeah."

They walked to breakfast and Scale, Nyx, and Hoot reluctantly parted ways. Scale sat in his bench a picked at whatever it was he was eating. He didn't know. It magically appeared. He thought it might be dog food of some kind because that was what he was used to eating. He ate the pellets and drank the water.

"What are you eating?" Malcom asked Hoot. Nyx and Scale heard for certain and of course listened.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"It looks like something I'd feed my dog," another girl at her table chimed in. "I'm Lexi, by the way."

Lexi held out her hand to shake and Hoot flinched away. Lexi sighed and pulled her hand back.

The now separated trip finished eating and met in their training clearing. Nyx nocturnal instincts were kicking in so he climbed into a branch and hung upside down a a few feet away from where the other two would be practicing their flying, falling asleep within seconds.

This wasn't something he'd been allowed at the lab but he found he liked it a lot.

"Are you okay?" Hoot asked as Scale got a few inches off the ground with his scarred dragon wings. Scale nodded.

"I'm fine," Scale bit his lip, the nervous habit revealed his lying if the slight pitch raise of his voice didn't.

"That's not true. What's wrong?"

"Thalia touching my shoulder just brought back some memories. I'm fine. Don't worry."

Hoot sighed. Scale had always been like this. Putting himself before the people he cared about. Hoot knew that he wouldn't talk about it willingly, just get angry and take it out on the people that threatened his friends.

"I get it," Hoot told him as he moved over to sit on the log next to her. She wasn't going to tell him that she was scared of going back there when he was already so down. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Scale shook his head, "No."

Hoot sighed and when the conch shell blew signifying the end of breakfast and effectively causing Nyx to wake up and stumble out of his tree they headed to their respective activities. The Athena cabin kidnapped Scale for swordfighting and Thalia joined.

Scale avoided her to the best of his ability, fearing that he might break down again. He couldn't handle that. He needed to be at his best to protect Hoot and Nyx against the worst.

A/N: Okay. Yeah it got a little dark but I'm trying to make this a little more realistic.

Foot notes:

1.: SCAA01 Stands for "Subclass Double A One" meaning he's the first experiment in that group. Subclass A is any mutant. The second A means he's a "fictional" hybrid. So, all demigod mutants would be that. Is it weird I took some time to contstruct that? Please review.