Travis Stoll grunted and step-sided as my electric spear narrowly missed his torso, swiping his sword towards my head in response. The Arena was filled with a cacophony of yelling and the clang of metal as the Hermes and Ares Cabins trained and sparred. Travis, though if you admit this to anyone, I'll deny it and pulverize you for good measure, was a pretty skilled swordsman and definitely the quickest one at Camp besides his brother. The punk's swings weren't as hard as some other people's but they were so fast so it was hard to keep up.

"So Clarisse," Travis said cheerfully as he parried my strike. "How did you enjoy being the incredible Hulk last week? Fits you perfectly. Strong but stupid." He said, smiling innocently.

I growled at him and pressed him harder, not answering. The annoying idiot and his equally stupid brother had somehow turned my skin green and dyed all of my clothes purple last week. And now, the little brat was trying to get a rise out of me to have me make some stupid mistakes. Just because I was a daughter of Ares, doesn't mean that I was an absolute idiot. Unlike some stuck-up children of Athena and Poseidon might tell you. Long story short: I creamed the punk.

Disclaimer: Clarisse didn't actually 'cream' me. Thank the gods. She did beat me but it was a very close fight. You wish, bro. Shut up, Connor. - The Stoll Brothers.

Connor, probably seeing his brother being clobbered, called for a water break. As the Hermes campers flocked the water dispenser, I noticed that there were a lot fewer of them in the Hermes Cabin. A few years ago there had been at least 30 campers crowded in that run-down dump, now there were only about 12, most of them being annoying pranksters. I knew that the traitor, Luke, had been recruiting unclaimed demigods for his Titan Army but the number of cowards who had abandoned Camp and the gods because of parenting problems was sickening. A snarl escaped from my lips, scaring two daughters of Hermes as I thought about those who betrayed Olympus to join the Titans. Didn't they realize that the Titan Lord was worse? And if I ever see any of them, they would feel Maimer going through their gut.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts, which doesn't happen often, that I didn't notice my idiotic half-brother, Sherman Yang come up behind me.

"Hey, Clarisse. You got a crush on one of Hermes' spawn." He snickered. I sneered at him.

"Might be hard for you, Yang. But don't be stupid." He glared at me.

"Stop staring at 'em then. C'mon. I've wanted to beat you in a sparring match for a while." I smirked.

"You're going to have to keep dreaming then punk." I worked hard to be recognized as a daughter of Ares, as He usually had sons, and a camper who should be taken seriously. Sherman was not about to ruin it.

Sherman drew his short sword, a deadly, 2-foot, blade made of Celestial Bronze. He had convinced someone in the Hephaestus Cabin to make him a special hilt. At the bottom, there was the head of a dragon, one of our father's sacred animals. People's conversations seemed to quiet down as they realized that Sherman and I were about to duel.

"Alright, folks!" Travis yelled into a megaphone. Wait where the Hades did he get a megaphone?

"Betting pool! Me and Connor got 10 drachmas on Clarisse!" Sherman and I shared an eye roll as people began clamoring their bets. Leave it to the sons of Hermes to turn training into a way to make money. As I took out my electric spear again, a young brunette girl ran up to me.

Naturally, I was slightly taken aback. I knew that the Stolls and Annabeth tell the younger campers to 'give a wide berth to the dangerous and violent children of Ares.

"Who are you, kid?" I asked.

"Clarisse! Don't be so rude!" Connor playfully scolded me from the sidelines. The brunette glared at the Stolls.

"Katie says that you two are the rudest people she knows so you shouldn't talk." I barely held back a laugh. So the kid was a child of Demeter. I liked the children of Demeter. People didn't give them enough credit; they could be fierce. Katie Gardiner was a prime example. We bonded over a mutual hatred of stupid pranks by two moronic pranksters.

Did I get side-tracked? That happens a lot for demigods. We have ADHD, which helps our impulses in battle. Anyway, the daughter of Demeter, Amanda Frayne, told me that Chiron wanted me to come to the big house. Various shouts and complaints rose from the Hermes and Ares campers.

"You leave after we spar," Sherman ordered, smirking wickedly. "Unless you're scared that you will lose." I glared at my half-brother.

"Last I checked, punk. I was the head counselor for Cabin 5, not you. And call me scared again, I break your teeth!" I turned to the crowd of campers who had once again fallen silent. "Water break is over. Get back to training!"

"Well, isn't someone throwing a temper tantrum?" Travis whispered to one of his half-siblings. I scowled at him.

"Come on," I muttered to Amanda. "Let's go."

"Um, I need to go rock-climbing," she said with uncertainty as if I might attack her. The rumors and gossip about me were ridiculous. Sighing, I stalked off to the Big House. As the blue Victorian house came into view, I thought about the last time that I entered its attic. When I asked the Oracle for a prophecy for my quest. My quest that 2 very well-known campers hijacked. Again ADHD. Chiron and Mr.D, a.k.a the god Dionysus, a.k.a the worst Camp Director in the history of Camp Directors, were playing pinochle, Mr.D's favorite game.

"Ah, Clarisse. I see you got my message." Chiron exclaimed as he saw me near the Big House. Mr.D snorted.

"You took your sweet time to get here, Charlotte."

Without looking at the god, I said, "My name is Clarisse." I added an idiot at the end in my mind. Everyone at camp knew not to enrage Mr.D. Something Prissy had yet to learn.

"Come. Let's go inside my office. I have a mission of sorts for you." I grinned excitedly.

"Another quest?" I asked. Chiron was still in his wheelchair form as he rolled through the Big House doors to his office.

"Not a quest," He called. "A mission. Two very different things." To get some questions answered, I followed Chiron down the halls of the Big House and into his office. Sitting down in a worn brown chair in front of Chiron's office, I immediately began asking questions.

"A mission? What kind of mission? And how is that different from a quest?" I demanded impatiently. Chiron looked up from some papers.

"Clarisse," he said. "A mission doesn't need a prophecy and doesn't have the limit of 3 people, unlike a quest. We usually use missions for war." My interest was piqued. It usually was when someone hinted at a possible fight or battle in the future.

"As for what the mission is, Clarisse, you're mother called. She needs you to go to Arizona immediately." My excitement fell. When I was younger, my mom and I had been close until she sent me away when I was 9.

She had a seemingly cold and no-nonsense personality and wasn't afraid to beat people up. Verbally or physically. Things that drew her to the god of war. However, having a daughter who wasn't afraid to beat people up and attracted multiple monsters that she was barely able to fend off was too much for her to handle. We hadn't seen each other in person for 5 years. Now she wanted me to come home.

"Clarisse," Chiron began softly.

"Why?" I growled. Chiron looked as if he wanted to say something but continued explaining the mission.

"She found an insane demigod wandering in the desert. She wants you to come down and check it out." A snarl appeared on my lips. Not only did my mom want me now, after 5 years, but only because I had to deal with some insane demigod. It wasn't even Chiron who wanted me to go on this mission.

"That's a job for a satyr," I said fiercely.

"Why do you think I am here, cupcake?" I turned my head to look behind me. A 4-foot, buff satyr was waiting respectfully in the doorway, a club on his back. I grinned, genuinely thrilled to see him.

"Since your mother and he already know each other, I thought that Gleeson would be the most logical choice to join you." Chiron piped up from behind me. The wily old centaur passed an envelope to me.

"These have your airplane tickets and information. I would go pack, Clarisse."

After one taxi ride and an infuriatingly long wait in line, I was boarding a plane to Arizona. I was going home.

After about 5 hours of me trying not to cause a scene because of the annoying mortals and occasionally Hedge, we arrived at the airport in Arizona.

"Well, where's your mom? Chiron said that she would be waiting for us." I grunted, not answering.

"I'm here." I very quickly looked up from the donut that I was eating. A middle-aged, dirty-blonde woman was walking stiffly towards us. She nodded at Hedge and then turned to me. My mom gave an awkward, obviously forced smile and opened her arms as if she expected a hug.

"Clarisse. Welcome home." I mentally cursed the old centaur.

"Hi, mom."