Updated 13/11/2022

Ares Kids and Water Don't mix

Percy's POV

I'm standing in a cinder block toilet surrounded by water, and watching as Clarisse stumbles outside. My thoughts start to run away with me, questions repeating in my mind. What just happened? Did I do that? Did my prayer awaken some toilet water god who wanted to save me from being swrilied? These questions filled my head as I pondered about the scene that had just occurred.

*Flashback*

I had been walking around with Annabeth, who was still my appointed guide, when a really buff girl, with a mean expression pasted on her face, marched her way over to us.

"Hey wise girl, who's your little boyfriend here", she demanded in a commanding tone.

"Get lost Clarisse, he isn't going to be another one of your victims." Annabeth defended

"Oooh, worried for your prissy little boyfriend, princess." Clarisse taunted.

"No. I'm helping him get used to camp and keeping him away from airheads like you," Annabeth retorted.

Clarisse looked furious and if she wasn't angry before she definitely was now. She stomped up to Annabeth and was staring her down with a terrific glare while Annabeth just let those intimidating grey eyes of hers, send a glare straight back.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, I decided to try move slowly away, however this only gave Clarisse a chance to grab me by the arm. A few other really buff guys, that looked similar to Clarisse also grabbed a hold of me blocking Annabeth from grabbing me, and started dragging me towards the cinder block building that had to be the bathroom. Clarisse was strangling my arm so tight I felt sorry for the snake that I had killed when I was three (Yes i killed a snake when i was three but that's a different story). Their intentions were pretty clear, they wanted me to get acquainted with the toilet water in there.

I was turned around and shoved into one of the stalls. Clarisse lifted herself up and planted one foot on my back pushing me towards the swirly giving machine. I willed with all my might, and said a silent prayer that I wouldn't be a victim of this. I felt a pull and then a push out of my gut, and then the water from the toilet sprayed up, looping over me and nailing Clarisse in the face. The water continued to flow out until each and every one of Clarisse's cronies were drenched with the torrent of toilet water. After all of them were soaked and left coughing and spluttering the water receded slowly retreating back into the toilet, a bit like the tides do at the beach when it is low tide.

*End Flashback*

Clarisse and her cronies were all still choking up toilet water, looking like drowned rats, when i decided to finally walk out of the bathroom noticeably dry. Annabeth looked somewhat dumbfounded as she watched me casually stroll up to her, while the rats were drying themselves off.
"Come on Annabeth let's go to the Arena," I said casually to her, hoping to get her out of her stupor.
"Of... of course, this way" and she led me to the Arena.

[Friday (Capture the Flag)]

"The teams are Ares, Dionysus, Aphrodite and Apollo, versus Athena, Hermes, Hephaestus and Demeter." Chiron announced "The creek is the boundary. Teams go to your areas, at the sound of the conch the game begins." Our team moved into the forest, south, away from the other team. As we went further and further into the forest, I started to feel more comfortable, as if I was supposed to be there.

As we ran I noticed the forest was lit with greens that varied in shade, and the trees climbed high into the sky. I slowed down and noticed the various species of trees, the birds chirping away, and the sweet smell that the recent rain had brought into the small glade that was just before me. I must of spent too much time admiring the area because I looked around and none of my team-mates were around me. I looked around and quickly observed some broken twigs and snapped branches along with a whole bunch of footprints in the soil. I quickly deduced that they went that away and by following the tracks I caught up to where the group had gathered. When I found the rest of the group, Annabeth was assigning campers to their stations. She glanced up and looked at me and said. "Percy. You Katie and Travis are on border control, so you will be right on the creek.

Something gave me the impression that I was part of some elaborate scheme concocted by Annabeth, more than likely involving the hot-headed daughter of Ares, who had been for the better part of the last few days been hunting me down trying to pummel me. I nodded at Annabeth, showing my understanding of my role and turned around to try find Travis and Katie. It wasn't too difficult as their voices were raised and they were in the thick of another argument. I found them and saw that many of the other Hermes and Demeter campers had gathered around to watch them go at it.

"Travis! Katie! your with me by the creek now stop flirting and let's go." I yelled at them
Travis had gone beet-red at that but it seemed to have just pissed Katie off more.

"What did you say to me? Katie asked with a fiery tone, her normally kind eyes now widened and glaring at me, clearly annoyed.

"I said stop fighting and let's go, you're with me by the creek." I said quickly, to avoid getting hit by Katie.

"OK Perce," Travis said. He then looked at the Demeter girl who was still glaring at me and him. "Sorry Katie," he said apologetically with his head down. He shuffled quickly over to get his sword and shield from Conner who was now in a silent laughing fit.

The conch horn sounded and we rushed to our position. When we got to the creek we all took up defensive stances and waited for the fighting to begin. After waiting for around twenty minutes, with a few little skirmishes with some Apollo campers, a buff boulder of armour and muscles came out of the forest brandishing a spear, followed by two similar boulders. "So Prissy, you ready to fight," the boulder holding the spear mocked.

"Hi Clarisse, you look a little hot today maybe you'd like to cool off with some of that all-natural toilet water again." I retorted back (Though not very wisely now I come to think about it)

"Come on then, Me verse you right now," she challenged, cracking an evil grin that could challenge Smelly Gabe's, as if she had some advantage over me. I mean sure she had a spear and who knows how many years of training, but i had learnt quickly. Then I noticed the crackling at the tip of her spear, bright blue..., electric blue. That's when I realised the advantage she had over me. Cackling off of the tip of her spear was electricity, she had an electrically charged spear while I had a sword that didn't feel right and a heavy shield that was weighing me down. Against my better judgement, I did probably one of the stupidest things I could, I raised my shield and uttered those three words that ultimately changed my life from then on, "Bring it on."

Clarisse charged at me, while her other two goons charged at Travis and Katie. Clarisse got me three times with her spear, sending electricity circuiting through my body, before I was finally able to raise my shield. Although she was clearly stronger and had had much more training then I had. I started to get some leeway after I parried one of her thrusts. I found renewed strength and started to use my shield more effectively. Although I tried to get behind her defence, she was just too good with her shield and she blocked me time and time again, strike after strike.

After what felt like hours of sparring, I turned around to see how Travis and Katie are doing, and surprisingly they were doing much better than what I was. I turned back to Clarisse to continue our fight and raised my shield just high enough to stop me getting shocked and skewered by her spear. Clarisse pushed forward again and I quickly raised my sword to deflect more attacks. There was a scream and I turned around to see Katie with a long cut along her left arm and other smaller cuts all up her arms and on her legs. Travis couldn't go to help because the son of Ares he was facing, was driving him further and further back down the hill. Then before I could register what was happening I felt the now familiar twinge of electricity do another circuit. I turned to see Clarisse laughing triumphantly at me, she cackled as she moved back again and started to charge towards me leaving me with little to do but raise my shield, before Clarisse rammed into me to send me hurtling back through the creek. It was at this point that I noticed that I had my left foot in the creek and a a weird sensation filled me. The numbness I had experienced from all the shocks I had received was gone and instead I felt invigorated, as if I could fight Ares himself. I looked down to see that all the cuts that I had received courtesy of Clarisse were now just mere scratches and even they were fading.

I snapped back to reality to see Clarisse charging at me again, head down and spear forward. I prayed that I would not again have to endure Clarisse smashing into me, and that something would separate Clarisse and her cronies from us. Then just like the other day I felt a tug in my gut. As Clarisse charged a 7 foot wall of water magically sprang out of the creek and appeared in front of Travis, Katie and I. It began to tower over Clarisse and the other two Ares kids, building higher until I willed the water to crash into them and felt a push in my gut, as for the second time that week Clarisse was showered with water. The force of the water pushed her back and she sat coughing and spluttering at the edge of the hill looking like a drowned rat. With them mostly taken care of, Travis ran up with his Shield and whacked each of them in the head knocking them out. Not stopping to marvel at what I had just done, or to help Travis disarm the Ares kids, I ran over to Katie. I grabbed her arm and she winced in pain as I slowly brought her into the stream. I prayed that the water would have a similar effect on Katie as it had had for me and I felt the tug in my gut as a trickle of water came up out of the stream snaked its way around Katie's legs and worked it's way up to her arm. As the water touched her skin, it immediately engulfed the areas where she was cut and healed them until they were nothing more than scratches on her arms. Katie looked in awe as the water enveloped her wounds and I stumbled a bit, then out of breath and tired I lay down and thought to myself (I guess Ares kids and Water don't mix).

Travis Katie and I, all sat down on the forest floor, just meters away from Clarisse and her two brothers that were out cold, when Annabeth suddenly materialized before us with a shimmering Red Flag and told us that we had won the game.
She looked at me a little inquisitively when she saw three drenched and unconscious Ares kids. As if disbelieving that I could knock them out, (well the water helped too... Okay it helped a lot). She stood there for a few more seconds, silently interrogating me with her piercing and intimidating grey eyes before we all heard a snap come from the woods.