Percy didn't know what to think of Camp Half-Blood. He still thinks this place could still be a dream. But it isn't, his Mom is gone. She's never going to come back. Percy fought back a sob, he couldn't cry now. It would be embarrassing to do it in front of a girl he just met.

Annabeth Chase, the girl he just met a few minutes ago, showed him around the Camp. He took note of all of the individual cabins marked for a different Greek god. His godly parent hasn't claimed him yet, so for now, he would be staying in the Hermes Cabin with the other unclaimed demigods. Percy still had a lot of questions that needed to be answered, even though Annabeth is giving him the answers he needed to know, she still keeps treating him like he's stupid.

Just when Percy's day couldn't get any worse, Clarisse, a stocky, strong girl from the Ares cabin, walks over to Percy and Annabeth with a threatening look in her dark eyes. Before Percy could even swing a punch, he felt himself being carried into the girls' bathroom.

Clarisse holds Percy by his head and gets him on his knees, she forces his head closer to the toilet bowl. Percy felt a tug in his stomach and all of the toilets in the girls' bathroom exploded with sewer water, drenching Clarisse and her siblings from head to toe. Clarisse looked at Percy in shock, she didn't know how this runt could even have that kind of power.

"So the rumors were true, he is Big Three material," She thought.

She still was processing what happened, she couldn't even react to an insult Percy just said to her. She slowly got up, water dripping from her clothes, she ran out the door with her siblings following right behind her.

"Don't worry Clarisse, we'll get him back for what he did to us," One of her siblings stated angrily.

"He's a dead man walking," The other Ares sibling added.

Clarisse didn't feel angry at Percy for what he did, instead, one thought was going through her mind.

"I need to see that power again…"

The next day, Percy tried to get used to his new routine while being at Camp. Annabeth taught him Ancient Greek and Percy cycled through various Camp activities to try and get a handle on what he could be good at. After Percy gave up on trying archery, he walks to another part of the Camp to try another activity. As he was walking, he spots Clarisse walking toward him, Percy stops in his tracks and begins to slowly back away.

"Wait!" Clarisse calls out. "I want to talk to you!"

Percy thought about running away, but she was much stronger than him, so he decided not to. Clarisse walks up closer to Percy and looks at him nervously. Percy couldn't find a shred of malicious intent on her face, what does she want?

"I heard that you're trying some new activities around Camp," She says. "Maybe I can try and help you."

Percy glared at her, "This is a trick right? As soon as we're alone, you're going to rip out my hair or give me a wedgie."

"Sounds tempting, but I'm not mad about what you did to me in the bathrooms."

Percy raised an eyebrow, how could she not be mad? She was drenched in toilet water!

"I'm very curious, I have never seen a demigod have that kind of power before," Clarisse stated. "There was only one demigod that seemed to be on the same level as you."

"What happened to them?"

"She's died, then turned into a tree. It's a long story, I'll tell it to you later. Follow me."

Clarisse motioned to Percy to follow her, he was hesitant at first, but then decided to follow her. He didn't want to make her mad again. The two demigods walked into a small space in the Camp where a couple of weapons lay on the ground, from swords to spears.

"Have you had your sword fighting lesson yet?" Clarisse asks, she picks up one of the swords from the ground. "You're going to need it if you're going to encounter any more monsters."

Percy looks at the assortment of swords on the ground, he picks them up one by one, but he couldn't find a sword that felt right in his hands. He just settled with an unbalanced blade.

"I'm going to teach you sword fighting newbie," Clarisse stated. "I may not be as skilled as Luke, but I'm an excellent fighter in my own right."

"What are you getting out of this?" Percy asks, he holds the sword clumsily in his hands.

Clarisse sighs, "Rumors were going around in the Camp about you, at first I didn't believe them, but after what you did in the girls' bathroom, I now know that the rumors are true. You do have power, and I want to see it in action."

Percy didn't feel powerful, maybe she had the wrong demigod. But whatever happened in that bathroom, it had to be some kind of ability that he never took notice of before. Something to do with water…

"Get ready punk, I'm not going to hold anything back. I'm not going to stop unless I see the power that you have inside of you," Clarisse threatened.

She attacked Percy with a flurry of stabs, jabs, and strikes. Despite Percy holding an unbalanced sword, he managed to block every one of her attacks. Percy started to feel bruised and tired after a few minutes.

"You can't be tired already! I was hoping for a good fight!" Clarisse shouted.

She swung her sword at Percy again, this time she managed to easily disarm him. Percy was already tired after the first wave of attacks, he couldn't handle anymore.

"Can we take a break now?" Percy panted, he bent down to grab both of his knees. Sweat drips from his forehead.

Clarisse wanted to continue to fight, to try and push Percy to his limits, but everyone needs a break once in a while.

"Fine," Clarisse sighs, she drops her sword to the ground. "A five-minute break."

Percy thought five minutes was better than nothing, so he didn't say anything further. He sat down on the ground just as Clarisse hands him a bottle of water. She sat down next to him.

"Was that your first time sword fighting?" Clarisse asks.

"Yes," Percy replied as he took a sip of water.

"I could tell, your defense is sloppy. Though I think it's because of your sword, it's unbalanced. With a right-sized weapon in your hand, you can do some serious damage," Clarisse explained, she smirked.

"You like fighting a lot don't you?"

"I got it from my dad. Ares, the god of war."

"Have you ever met him?"

Clarisse glared at Percy, "why do you ask?"

"Luke told me that most demigods don't get to meet their godly parents."

Clarisse chuckled, "So Luke is telling you about his harsh opinions again. It's true, the gods don't really visit Camp Half-Blood often, or sometimes, not at all."

Anger creeps up in her voice, but she pushed down her feelings, she didn't want to scare Percy away.

"I only met my father once, he gave me an electric spear, Maimer," She looked at the ground. "After he gave me my spear, he left. I was hoping he would come back, but he didn't."

Percy looked at how uncomfortable Clarisse is. Do all demigods feel this way? Living every single day waiting for parents who would never come? Would his father ever claim him? Did he even care about him? Clarisse turned her head away from Percy's gaze, she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. Percy didn't need to see her cry. she had to be strong, Ares kids didn't show their feelings.

"Your five-minute break is over," Clarisse says aggressively, trying to mask her sadness. "Pick up your sword and let's fight again."

Clarisse slowly got up and picked up her sword from the ground, Percy copied her actions. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he didn't want to press her. Especially since she had a weapon in her hand.

"Now punk," Clarisse says, giving a small smile. "Show me what you got."

She raised her sword and Percy raised his in return and they continued their training.

After an hour of sparring, Percy and Clarisse decided to go back to their respective cabins. They walked slowly right next to each together. Clarisse felt she made excellent progress with Percy's sword-fighting skills. He's very sloppy, but he has excellent determination and persistence, especially when it comes to attacking.

"Don't worry punk, a couple of more sessions with me and I'll get you in sword fighting shape in no time," Clarisse remarked, she slapped Percy hard on the back.

"Thanks," Percy winced. "Are you excited for Capture the Flag?"

"I'm more than excited, the Ares cabin will stomp out anyone who gets in our way!" Clarisse boasted. "You should join us! I don't know how much you'll actually do on the front lines, but rather have your skills on my side than on the other team."

"Annabeth offered me the same thing, she wanted me to join her team for capture the flag after I…blew up the girl's bathroom," Percy says nervously. He still felt embarrassed.

Clarisse snorted, "Annabeth is jumping at the opportunity to use you."

Percy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you doing the same thing?"

"Yes I am, but I'm more direct. Annabeth is planning something, she doesn't just invite any demigod to join an alliance with the Athena cabin. Athena kids are a sneaky bunch, even more than the Hermes kids. The only difference between the two is that you know that the Hermes kids are being sneaky, with the Athena kids, you don't," Clarisse explains.

Percy thought about it for a moment, Annabeth never seemed to be friendly with him. She only seemed to just talk to him out of obligation, not out of friendship. Clarisse may be a bully, but she at least knows what she wants. She tells people what she wants. Percy doesn't know what Annabeth wants. She's too secretive.

"She never tried to be friendly with me, it seems like she hates me," Percy says.

"She doesn't hate you, she just thinks you're her ticket out."

"Ticket out of what?"

"Camp."

Percy had a realization, "Of course! Luke mentioned something similar, but why am I her ticket out of Camp? Is it because of a quest?"

Clarisse kicks the grass, "It's been a while since any demigod has ever been on a quest. I think the last one was Luke, ever since he came from his quest he hasn't been the same since. It's like something messed him up. He hides it well, but whenever you mention a quest or a prophecy around him he changes."

The two demigods stopped at the circle of the cabins, they turned to look at each other.

"So do you want to join the Ares cabin?" Clarisse asks. Secretly she was hoping that Percy would say yes, maybe in the heat of battle his hidden power would be unleashed.

"Is it even possible for me to join? I'm in the Hermes cabin-"

Clarisse waved her hand, "You're still undetermined, you can technically join any side you want. What do you say punk? Do you wanna help lead the Ares cabin to victory?"

Percy thought about it for a moment, he heard a lot of stories about how aggressive and harsh the Ares cabin is. But his thoughts changed when he changed with Clarisse, she's harsh, brash, aggressive, and has an obsession with fighting. Though, when Percy was training with her, he noticed how much hard work she puts into herself when it comes to fighting. She has something to prove, Percy has something to prove too.

"Yes," Percy answered. He gave a small smile and stuck out his hand. "I'll join your alliance. Just try to keep the violence to a minimum."

Clarisse took Percy's hand and gave it a firm grasp, "No promises." She smirked. "I'll see you tomorrow punk."

They turned away and walked in opposite directions to their cabins. Only one thought ran through their heads when they slept that night, they started a very unlikely friendship.