Present ...

Marcus slipped through the trees, conscious of the traps that may be all around him. By the river huh? Ballsy move from the Hephaestus Cabin. Probably Chastity trying to get in Ivan's good graces. Marcus shook his head, feeling a small amount of guilt over the trick he'd pulled to get that information. She'll get over it... I hope. As he went, Marcus could hear the sounds of combat all around him, getting louder and louder the closer he got the river. He started keeping an eye out for Maddie, knowing that wherever the fighter would be, he would find her. So sweet and innocent normally, you put a weapon in that girl's hands and it's all Ares, all the time... Marcus scowled. Ares. That was a God he'd never see eye to eye with. His Berserkers Curse on a girl as sweet as Maddie... it just isn't right... and he loves that. Marcus was so distracted with his thoughts he almost didn't hear them until it was too late. In the blink of an eye, a group of five Hephaestus Campers has surrounded him. Looking around, Marcus recognized a few faces, but he wasn't one to be on a first name basis with many.

"Well look what we got here!" A red-haired boy sneered, tapping his spear against his shoulder. "Some minor demigod brat who thinks he's a hero!"

The group of demigods laughed, none of them noticing the effect that Red Hairs words had on Marcus. He froze in place, seemingly shocked.

"Aw look at him! He's scared shitless!" Another cried, this one wearing a full face mask helmet. "Guess it's true what we were told. Minor half-bloods really are terrified of us Olympians!"

Marcus looked at them. Watched them all. Only one seemed to recognize him, a boy wearing half armor and a headband, and that one wasn't saying a word. Just shaking his head at his siblings, backing away slowly from the group. Note to s elf. That one gets to run. The rest? Depends . Marcus pulled his pocket watch out of his pocket, leaving it swinging loosely from his fist, clenched at his side. The only outward sign of the rage slowly building at their laughter. "How do you know my godly parent is a Minor God?"

A Daughter of Hephaestus scoffed, spitting at Marcus' feet. "It's obvious isn't it? Any Olympian half-blood has this... aura of power and importance. You minor half-bloods? Not a thing. Might as well be mortal for all the godly aura you give off!" At that, the rest of the group again started laughing, save the one with the headband.

"Uh... Guys? Maybe we should leave this one alone..." Headband said. "I uh... I think I-"

"Shut it!" Red Hair yelled, swinging his spear off his shoulder. "We don't take care of this one now, he has a chance to win the game, and THEN what do we do? Dad will never notice us!"

"Yeah. Besides, how strong can he be?" Face Mask scoffed. "He's only a minor half-blood. Nobody parent, nobody child."

Marcus scowled. One chance. I have to give them ONE chance... He sighed and spread his arms a little ways apart, enough to be disarming, but not enough to leave him open for attack. "One chance Hephaestus Cabin. Run. Or you'll find out why your brother was right."

They laughed. "Us run? It's four against one you idiot!" cried the Daughter. "I know minor demigods aren't powerful, but I at least thought they could count!"

Marcus allowed a smile to come to his face. One of those cocky grins Alicia used to love so much. The one that Aaron had known to look out for. The one Maddie hated seeing. Good thing you aren't here Mads. This is about to get ugly. The other campers saw his smile, but they didn't see the warning. They saw what he wanted them to see. Red Hair stepped in closer to Marcus. "Alright nobody. Enough playing around. Sorry, but nobody would care about some minor half-blood getting noticed anyway. Save the glory for the Olympians." With that, he stabbed at Marcus with the tip of his spear. A stab that would have wounded Marcus enough to take him out of the round of Capture the Flag. A stab that, in all honestly, was probably a bit too far into the maiming category. Marcus sidestepped, using his pocket watch to wrap around the spearhead. With his leverage, he pulled, causing Red Hair to stumble forward and, using his momentum against him, swung his elbow up under the boy's chin. In an instant, the situation had turned from Red Hair attacking Marcus, to Red Hair knocked out, flat on his back, Marcus balancing the butt of the spear on his foot, casually swinging his pocket watch by its chain. Marcus looked at the remaining half-bloods, seeing the Daughter's jaw drop, Face Mask sputter in rage at what had just happened, the last just looking at Headband and Headband turning and running as fast as he could away from the confrontation. Well. That's two down. "So? That it? Where's that Olympian Might you were gonna show me?"

Screaming in rage, the Daughter and Face Mask charged in for the attack. Marcus flicked his foot, causing the spear he was balancing to spin in the air, the butt end catching the Daughter in the face, causing her to stumble back. Taking the opportunity for a one on one match, Marcus flicked his pocket watch into a sword, parrying Face Masks own thrust and pushing the point of his sword into the dirt. Quickly stepping on the flat of the blade, Marcus swung his own against the side of Face Masks helmet, causing a clear ringing sound to clang through air, and causing even Marcus to flinch. Ouch... that can't have felt good. Maybe I should've held back a b it. After a moment, Face Mask collapsed backwards on the ground, lying prone.

Marcus wasn't given a moment to breathe, as the Daughter rushed in again, swinging her blade in murderous arcs, no longer seeming to care that killing was not actually something they were allowed to do. Even maiming is TE CHNICALLY frowned upon. Not that she seems to care. Marcus blocked and parried the Daughter's swings, taking time to learn his opponent's movements and forms. However, she didn' t seem to have any training, swinging wildly at him, almost like a wild animal. No training, no real knowledge of the Camp situation... Gods these new campers just keep getting worse and worse. Finally, Marcus had had enough. He stopped blocking. He stopped parrying. Marcus effortlessly side stepped each and every one of the Daughter's strikes until she overreached. Catching her wrist, Marcus spun and flipped her onto her back, and in the moment she was winded, used the hilt of his sword to knock her out. As he kneeled over her, Marcus looked back up towards the last Camper that remained. "Last chance to run away kid. You're out of your league." The camper nodded vigorously backing away from Marcus into the trunk of a tree. Marcus walked over, flicking his weapon back into watch form and stowing it in his pocket. "Good call. Now, last question before I walk away and we forget that this ever happened. Where, exactly, is your flag?"

Marcus heard a scream. He stopped dead in his tracks, the enemy's flag right in front of him, hidden in the hollow trunk of a tree. That voice... That s ounded like Maddie! Without a second thought, Marcus ran towards the sound, the flag forgotten. Faster Marcus! Faster! Dammit, why didn't I keep my eyes on her?! I never should've let her go off on her own! Aphrodite warned me! Dammit!

Marcus rushed through the woods, through battles between Half-Bloods, dodging Monsters and Campers alike in his search for Maddie. Bursting through the trees into a clearing he saw her, her armor glowing, heat radiating off of it. Maddie, fighting through the pain and attempting to fight... Elliot? Marcus couldn't believe it. Elliot had his hand outstretched, staying out of the reach of Maddie's spear, causing her armor to radiate heat, growing hotter and hotter by the minute. Gods dammit! If he keeps that up it'll kill her! Marcus circled around as fast as he dared, allowing Maddie to keep Elliot's attention as he snuck around to his back. If anything happens to her, I swear by all the Gods I'll kill you. You mark my words. Each time Elliot dodged Maddie's spear, Marcus could feel his heart in his throat. Not Maddie. You won't take her from me too. Marcus charged at Elliot, swinging his watch into a whip and taking him by surprise. With a flick of his wrist, Marcus caught Elliot's foot with his whip and pulled, dragging him off his feet and breaking his concentration. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief as Maddie's armor cooled, straightening and putting his watch back in his pocket. He turned with a smile to try and calm Maddie from her Berserker Trance when he saw her collapse.

No...

Marcus saw her falling. It seemed to take hours for her to fall to the grass, collapsed under the weight of her own armor.

No.

Maddie wasn't moving. Why wasn't she moving? Nobody could beat Maddie. Marcus had gotten here in time. Hadn't he?

No!

Marcus turned and dragged Elliot to his feet, words coming unbidden to his lips. He would never remember what he said. Nor the punches he threw at Elliot.

NO!

" MARCUS STOP!" Chiron pulled Marcus back. "It's over Marcus! The Hephaestus Cabin won."

"Chiron! Elliot! He-"

"That's enough! Maddie will be fine! Bring her to the Big House for first aid! NOW Marcus!"

Marcus shook his head, trying to clear the rage from his mind. Maddie... First aid... Without another word, Marcus ran to Maddie's side. Marcus unbuckled her armor, knowing it would only slow him down and lifted her into his arms. So small... I keep forgetting how small she really is... Marcus cradled Maddie, carrying her as gently as he could, he made his way through the forest back towards Camp and the Big House.

I dare a Fringer to try and start something with me today... Marcus scowled, carrying Maddie through the usually dangerous area at the Fringe of the Forest. He moved as fast as he dared, knowing that any delay could be more dangerous for Maddie than he could afford, but that attracting the wrong attention here could be even worse. Especially with Maddie... Daughter of Ares... However, maybe it was word spreading about his fight in the words, or rumors of his rage at Elliot, but nobody challenged him. Nobody spoke to him. Marcus rushed up the steps to the Big House, bringing Maddie into a lightly furnished spare bedroom on the ground floor, and laid her gently on the bed. Looking around, Marcus quickly took stock of his surroundings. A cabinet against the wall, a window, a writing desk. It's all so... normal... nothing should be normal right now! Marcus searched through the cabinet that was against the wall, opening doors and drawers until he found what he was looking for. Perfect. Marcus picked up a small bag, filled with small squares of the food Maddie needed. Ambrosia. Food of the Gods. Always handy to have a small supply... Marcus rushed back to Maddie's bedside. Gently, he moved her into a semi-reclining position and pressed the Ambrosia square into her mouth.

"That's more than enough Marcus." Marcus jumped. Chiron wheeled himself into the room, having returned to his wheelchair in order to navigate the house. "Too much and you can do more harm than good. You can leave now. I'll take it from here."

"But Chiron-"

"Now Marcus. And be glad you're walking out at all."

Marcus froze, looking at Chiron's back as he tended to Maddie. "What exactly is that supposed to mean...?"

"Marcus, you could have seriously hurt Elliot-"

"Elliot seriously hurt Maddie!"

"And what of the Hephaestus campers Marcus? What did they do to deserve your wrath?"

Marcus started to retort but stopped. He knew, no matter what he said, he knew Chiron wouldn't understand. But still... "Chiron, they attacked me! What have you been training us for if not to defend ourselves?"

"From MONSTERS Marcus! Not your fellow Half-Bloods. No matter what insults they throw at you, they are still your-"

"Don't you dare say family Chiron. My family is gone."

Both froze, each not knowing how to react. Marcus didn't know where that had come from. Chastity was still here. Maddie was still here. Is that how I really feel without them...? Chiron turned his wheelchair to look at Marcus, nothing but worry and concern in his eyes. "Marcus, every demigod here is your family. The Gods may be difficult at times, I admit, but they still are your family."

Marcus shook his head, his eyes downcast. "This family is falling apart Chiron. Day after day, I watch as there are more arrogant Olympian children and more Minor demigods shunned to the sides. You've heard the rumors too, haven't you? Demigods are leaving, forming groups outside of this Camp more and more by the day. And Dionysus doesn't do anything. Doesn't care. None of the Olympians do."

Chiron looked up at Marcus, the weight of his centuries training heroes evident in his face. "Why do you think I'm sending you out into the world Marcus?"