A/N: Thanks for giving this story a chance, however before you start reading this fic you might want to read this little warning.

First of all, I am dyslectic, English is a second language and I have no beta, so please don't judge me too hard for mistakes in spelling. I will do everything I can to minimise the number of these, but it is bound to happen.

Second, as said in the summary: this is AU (alternate Universe). Whilst what you know of the universe is mostly the same, there are some differences. Most of these should quickly become clear in the story. However I will reveal that Persephone spent most of her teenage years in camp Half-Blood (She was extremely worried about her mom after being attacked by lastrygonians and hoped that she would be safer that way) and that both camps are much larger (each around 5000 demi-gods of fighting age) and have several smaller camps attached to them throughout the states.

Thirdly, this is not a bashing story (at least not in my opinion), sure my like and dislike of certain characteristics, demi-gods, monsters and gods might be clear at some point, but it won't be my intent to bash them. So no slutty, air-headed Aphrodite, excessively stupid Ares-campers, neither will characters lose all their qualities due to the power of the almighty author (No stupid Anabeth).

Lastly, recap this story will contain bloodshed, the occasional swearword and femslash (aka Yuri aka lesbians). If you somehow missed this on the summary, this was the last warning.

To those who are still with me, I hope you enjoy the story .

disclaimer: I swear upon the river styx that I don't own the rights upon the Percy Jackson-novels. (I do own a copy of the novels though)

The girl sat silently in front of the entrance of the small cave, a dark but dry hole in a natural wall of stone and dust. She was shivering, despite what little warmth the small fire in front of her provided. The lack of warmth explained why she covered herself with an old and ragged looking trench coat.

Hugging her own legs as in an attempt to preserve her own warmth, it was nearly impossible to guess her age or figure. If it wouldn't have been for her fingers, which were long and slender, although not without calluses and the occasional times she raised her head, it would have been impossible to detect she was in her mid-teens, tanned and the owner of a pair of sea-green eyes.

The young woman stiffened for a single moment when she heard the soft sound of approaching footsteps behind her. Raising her head at the sound of the moving pebbles, there was a small tug at the corner of her mouth which became a little smirk. Moving her right hand towards her left, she plucked a capped pen from the inside of her sleeve.

A moment later her dark figure stood outlined against the illuminated wall.

She pointed her sword, an ancient leaf shaped blade, in the direction of the sound.

"Come out now!" She ordered with an angry tension in her voice. "The titans unleashed you for a reason!"

For a moment there was only silence between the swordswoman and her hidden guest, then there was the clearly notable sound of a step.

"They did not, Persephone." Replied a soft but regal sounding voice, whilst the fire behind Persephone grew in size. "But what happened to you?"

For a moment the girl, now revealed to be Persephone, stared down. Then she grinded her teeth.

"Why do you care?" She asked angrily. "It isn't like it mattered before, did it?"

The woman who walked towards her looked like a goddess, ironically that was exactly what she was.

She had high cheekbones which gave her royal features, plump red lips and large, soft brown eyes. Long licorice-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall of loose curls upon her shoulders and back, the contrast putting further emphasis upon her alabaster tone of her skin.

Despite her surroundings she wore a long simple looking white dress which seemed to shimmer like oil upon water. Both her wrists and left ankle were adorned with golden bangles. With her attribute, a lotusstaff in her hand, the Goddess stared down at the slightly smaller girl.

"Be mindful of your words, demigodess." She admonished the girl. "They've landed you in trouble before."

Persephone was visibly forcing her preferred reply back down her throat after those words.

Taking a deep breath, Persephone aimed her gaze at the goddess.

"What brings you here, Lady Hera?" she asked her, only just succeeding in keeping the anger out of her voice.

A small smile adorned the features of the Queen of the Gods, before it was replaced by a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"I couldn't ignore your prayer." Hera told her whilst observing every inch of the young demigoddess.

"I am sorry, my lady." Persephone started. "But I can't recall praying."

"Families are my domain, Persephone." The Goddess replied patronising. "Even if it wasn't your intention for your prayer to reach me, I was still among those who received it."

The Goddess paused for a moment.

"I never cared much for demigods, especially since most of those are crimes against my domain." Hera admitted. "But, what happened to you, Persephone?"

"Do you know happens to heroes who refuse to die, Lady Hera?" Persephone asked her with a soft voice, whilst turning her head towards the flames.

Hera had an inkling to the answer but still tilted her head and waited for the explanation of the demigoddess.

"They live to see themselves become the villain."

"I find it hard to believe that you became a villain." Hera told her.

Persephone chuckled mirthless. "You would be one of the few."

"What happened, Persephone?" Hera asked again. "What made the prime heroine of the Olympus, the leader of Camp Half-Blood and Poseidon's favoured daughter into an outcast?"

She narrowed her eyes when she noticed the demigoddess clenching her fist around the hilt of her sword at the end of her sentence.

"Do you remember what happened after the titans were defeated?" Persephone asked her eventually.

"Anyone would be hard pressed to forget that day." Hera replied, there was a short pause during which the Goddess showed a little smile again. "Although Dionysus and a lot of the campers made a valiant effort with the amount they drank."

"It was a great day." Persephone admitted whilst the tone of her voice became gentler. "One of the few remaining. I was the heroine of the hour, Persephone Jackson Titan's Bane. So were the others, Thalia the Huntress, Nico the Herald of the Underworld, Clarisse Drakon-slayer, Silena her Patroclus, Beckendorf Vanquisher of the Andromeda, Annabeth the Architect of the Olympus and Luke the liberator of demigods."

Hera couldn't miss the hissed way she spat those last names.

"The war was over and we were all victims." Persephone continued before shaking her head. "I can't blame them for believing that."

She gave a sigh. "Especially when it is so true, but why would that mean pretending nothing happened?"

"He killed them, lady Hera." She whispered. "He killed them and they act as if nothing happened. Zoë walked willingly to her dead, Bianca sacrificed herself for us, so did Beckendorf.

Persephone grasped Hera's arm, her voice became more erratic with every new word.

"He forced Silena to betray us! For weeks I saw the desolation in her eyes before she ended her own life by leading the Ares-Cabin into battle. So many demigods dead, some by my hand and yet, they treat him as if he's noting but a hero."

Persephone was shaking, looking as if she was about to cry.

"It was not as if I wanted to see him dead or anything. I just wanted him to admit the consequences of his actions, see him forced to prove himself worthy to regain everything he once threw away."

Persephone stared at her clenched fist which started to pale.

"Apart from the cabins of Ares, Aphrodite and the Hunt, I stood mostly alone. Whenever a new camper arrived, they heard about the sacrifices, the cause and the result of the war. He was a rebel, he did the wrong thing for right reasons. And I? I was the warhound of the camp if I was lucky, otherwise I was the lapdog of Olympus."

Persephone couldn't help but laugh after those last words, but Hera noticed the lack of joy in her laugh.

"I hoped, I prayed for the Gods to do something, anything at all, but nothing happened. Only Hermes and Athena ever came to show their support for the rare quest which was undertaken by their children."

"Your friends?" Hera asked her, wondering why she scarcely mentioned any support.

"Grover and the other satyr's were busy with the wild." Persephone whispered, only pausing to sigh. "Apart from that, he didn't want to choose between me and Luke now he had his oldest friend back. The Stolls were happy their half-brother was back. Will and Katie refused to go against most of their siblings. Annabeth,"

Persephone's eyes lost what little remained of their shine when she whispered her formerly closest friend's name.

"Annabeth was firmly entrenched on his side. She tried to rekindle the friendship between Luke and me at the start."

Persephone snorted after those words. "Which basically meant that she tried to persuade me to drop my grudge. When I didn't she made clear who she would support."

Persephone sighed. "She had her dream, Luke and her position as architect of Olympus, it wasn't like she needed me anymore."

"And some wonder why I dislike demigods." Hera whispered. "My apologies for the pain I brought up with my questions. It was definitely painful enough to understand why you decided to run away."

"It was definitely painful," Persephone admitted, "but that wasn't what made me run away."

Persephone took another deep breath whilst lowering her head. When Hera pushed Persephone's head up with a motion of her hand under the girl's chin, she noticed the red eyes.

"Annabeth knew she had been my anchor in the Styx. When I refused to budge on the issue of Luke's swordsmanship classes, she told me that she had made her choice and that I had to stop acting like a scorned lover and find another girl for my affections."

"Now the camp knew." Persephone concluded with a small voice.

Hera stared a moment at the girl before wrapping her arms around her and pulling the demigoddess against her.

The goddess felt the surprised intake of breath of the smaller girl against her cheek before Persephone started leaning into the hug. Persephone felt hands of the Goddess rub her back soothingly. Hot tears fell upon the bare shoulder of the Goddess or soaked the silk against her collarbone. Anger, stubbornness, pride, defiance, all emotions which had kept her from breaking down but now having found an outlet, months of repressed pain kept flooding out.

The Bane of the Titans grabbed Hera and kept her arms wrapped around the Queen of the Olympus. The girl hungrily took in every bit of warmth and acceptance which the Goddess eagerly provided. If someone would have observed both they would have noticed the elated smile upon Hera's face when she felt the demigoddess lean into her embrace. Both were lost in the moment, sensing noting but the warmth and comfort of the others body, as well as the heaving breath and Hera's whispered comforting.

Hera would ask no more questions about what happened afterwards. That was easy enough to imagine for the Queen of Olympus. Having found the supposed reasons of her hatred for Luke, most of the campers would act accordingly and further shun her, only now with more ammo. About Poseidon's support, she had even less illusions. Poseidon had always been the cruellest, most uncaring of her brothers. He wasn't harsh or cold like Hades or paranoid jumping at shadows like her husband. Poseidon was more like a child, loud and aggressive, not caring who or what he hurt if it got him what he wanted or could stop others of getting what he wanted. Contrary to what people often believed Orion wasn't a dark mark upon Poseidon's legacy, just a better known example. Even Ares showed more care for his children and lovers.

Persephone had been disinherited, cast away like a mere mortal who had angered him and robbed of parts of herself which had been hers since her birth. She didn't doubt that the god himself hadn't lost a single moment of sleep because of his actions.

The mother inside the Goddess was torn between absolute fury against the father who had abandoned his daughter in her most vulnerable moment and her desire to comfort and protect the girl. The Queen inside her on the other hand recognised the opportunity. One of the most powerful demigoddess to ever walk the earth had been abandoned and lay in her embrace.

"What will you do now, Persephone?" Hera asked her. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know, lady Hera." Persephone admitted to her.

Hera couldn't help but smile when she noticed the teen had closed her eyes whilst burying her head into her shoulder.

"You won't be going back to the camp, though." Hera told her.

Persephone smiled in reply. The sweet sight was an almost painful remainder that the girl was not even seventeen.

"I can't imagine you simply going on like this though." Hera continued. "There is another place were demigods gather, unknown to Camp Half-blood of which they are unaware in return."

Hera felt Persephone stiffen, both in curiosity and suspicion.

"It is harsher, more ruthless than Camp Half-blood ever was or would be. They respect honour, strength and discipline above all and will show no mercy for those in whom they find these traits wanting." Hera told her.

"Do you really believe I belong there." Persephone asked her.

"Can anyone believe you're lacking in even one of these traits?" Hera asked her in return.

The Goddess chuckled softly. "It would surprise me if you wouldn't end up leading them."

"I am not interested in another taste of the weight of leadership." Persephone told her.

"This camp sounds interesting though." she admitted. "Could you tell me where it is?"

"I will lead you there myself." Hera promised her. "But not yet, entering unaware of the differences between camp Jupiter and Half-Blood would make you no less certain of dead than entering with lesser skills."

"Camp Jupiter?" Persephone asked her. "Like the planet?"

Hera couldn't keep herself from smiling. "Jupiter, like the planet." She repeated.

The Queen of Olympus slowly removed one arm from around the demigoddess, she made certain that the other arm remained upon Persephone's shoulder though.

"Come!" Hera told her. "You've earned the protection of the Queen of the Olympus. Now, you will prepare to show those who abandoned you the magnitude of their mistake."

For the second time that night, Hera witnessed a hint of the smirk which had made the Demigoddess so feared among the enemies of the Olympus. Persephone Jackson, the Slayer of Kronos, Titan's Bane, Bearer of the Sky and vanquisher of innumerable monsters was returning to the land of the living.

The bronze skinned figure jumped back, making the first swipe of the curved sword fall short. A second slash followed immediately when it's opponent closed the gap and brought her second sword down upon her foe. Raising it's shield, the blade was stopped from performing what would otherwise have been a decapitating slash. However the shield was unable to resist the finely honed edge from the blade when supported by its own weight and the strength of its wielder, making a large part from the top of the square shield fall down, leaving the shield bearer further exposed.

A new barrage of rapid strikes drove the shield bearer back until the falcata made a deep vertical cut into the wood of shield, only stopped by the bronze of the umbo. Seizing the opportunity, the shield bearer immediately threw every pound of it's weight forward, attempting to rob the swords wielder of her balance. The push was instantly followed by a rapid thrust of the short, leaf shaped sword in attempt to capture the swords wielder unaware. However the shieldbearer felt no resistance and stumbled forward instead. It registered a rapid motion to it's right, but before it could turn and raise it's scutum to defend itself, there was a moment of pressure against it's neck, accompanied by the shrieking sound of metal clashing against metal and the fight was over.

The remaining combatant made a scissoring motion with her swords freeing them of the remains of her training dummy and raised the weapons to the sky. A triumphant growl escaped her throat to celebrate her latest victory.

Behind the demigoddess, half hidden beneath the shadow of a bush, a massive she-wolf raised her head a bit. The canine gave a pleased growl to acknowledge the victory, before allowing her head to rest once more upon her paws.

For a moment there was an almost unnatural silence pressing down upon the open space in front of the ruined mansion, then the leader of her pack raised her head again.

A soft, though rough sounding chuckle escaped her throat when she crawled from underneath the shrubbery, obviously not caring or even being hindered by the branches or the thorns which broke off and were left behind in the thick red fur.

Now in the open, the she-wolf's seize was truly revealed. At least eight feet tall and exhaling an aura of power and intelligence, she could carry the title of mother of wolves without any true contender.

Pointing her silver eyes at the entrance of the mansion, the she-wolf showed a feral smirk.

"I've been waiting for your arrival, my lady." She whispered with a harsh and low, but obviously female voice.

A tall, pale skinned female figure with a regal air stood behind the remains of the gate of the ruin. The woman wore a blue dress and a goatskin cloak, there was a short sword, a gladius, at her side whilst she carried a lotusstaf in her right hand. Her face was beautiful, well shaped, with high cheekbones and seemed stern and stately, whilst simultaneously showing a mixture of pride, intelligence and ruthlessness.

"I know you have, Lupa." She replied upon a respectful tone, fit for a queen who congratulated a trusted servant for completing a difficult task.

Lupa gave a slight chuckle.

"I've been repeating this line for the last four months." She admitted. "But she was a pleasure to train, Lady Juno. A true gem to further brighten Rome's glory. I've imparted all the knowledge she needed and further refined her skills wherever I could."

The wolf-goddess smirked. "She's bound to leave deep imprints upon the legion and even deeper bite marks in the flesh of their foes."

"Indeed, she will." Juno admitted, adopting a softer tone which contained a mixture of care and pride.

Turning her eyes to the young demigoddess, the patron of women opened her arms towards the teen. Scarcely a moment later the teen had her arms wrapped around the Goddess in a tight embrace.

When she escaped the embrace, the Queen of Olympus couldn't help but smile. Persephone had definitely changed since Juno had placed the demigoddess under her protection. The girl had become more collected, more calculating. Where the daughter of Poseidon would have charged in without a second thought, the girl he had abandoned would weigh the odds first. Persephone would never stop being overly influenced by her emotions, but she wouldn't act on every impulse either.

Physically she was in prime condition. A rather smallish, slender girl whose muscles were just enough developed to form the perfect balance between strength and agility. She had lost most of her seemingly natural tan though and her cheekbones now seemed a bit more pronounced than before.

Unknown to Persephone, she owned Juno for this last development and if Persephone accepted her offer, she would also lose the last physical reminder of her former father.

Anaklusmos hadn't remained unaffected either, as if to help her wielder to unleash the anger she had locked up inside herself, the leaf shaped xiphos had turned into a falcata. The much sharper and heavier blade allowed it's wielder to cut through armour and weapons as if it was made of wet paper. The more menacing appearance of the blade was a helpful asset though. It's twin had been a present of the Queen of the Olympus, despite Persephone's affection for Tyson's shield, she had agreed that her way of fighting required a lighter, more versatile and aggressive companion, which would allow her to employ every bit of her aggression, agility and speed without being slowed down by the weight of the heavy shield.

"Your preparation has ended, Persephone." Juno told her. "You are ready for Camp Jupiter."

"I will make you proud, Lady Juno." Persephone replied, making a rather ceremonial sentence sound genuine due to the small smile and the affection in her voice.

Juna gave her one of her rather rare affectionate smiles. "I know you will, Persephone."

"Before I bring you there, I have an offer for you though." The Goddess began.

"You will recall me telling you that inside the walls of Camp Jupiter name and honour are of huge importance, even more than in Camp Half-Blood. By sending you there at your age and without a lineage or a letter of introduction, you will start your new life with some great disadvantages."

Persephone simply nodded, waiting for the Goddess to make her point, whilst enjoying the warmth of the renewed embrace.

"I am in no way trying to disrespect your mother, Sally Jackson, a woman who is an example for a great many things I stand for and neither am I trying to replace her."

Persephone nodded again, now enjoying the feeling of a caressing hand sliding through her hair.

"You're one rare demigoddess, Persephone." Juno whispered. "A warrior and a leader, a loyal friend, a selfless woman willing to sacrifice herself for what must be done despite her own desires and dreams. There are only a few women upon who I would bestow the title of Queen and I would count you first among those."

Juno smiled softly when she felt Persephone turn her head, in attempt to hide her face.

"I know you wouldn't disappoint me, no matter what the future brings. So if I offer you now the opportunity to become my daughter, would you accept me as your Godly parent?"

A soft yes, accompanied by nodding was the answer.

Without breaking their embrace, Juno placed a single kiss upon the forehead from her new daughter before gently pressing two fingers upon the same spot. Muttering in Latin the patron of women placed her chosen blessing upon the Demigoddess. Persephone felt her eyelids grow heavier and started slumping. However whilst sinking back in Hypnos embrace, even he couldn't wipe the smile of her lips, even if he had wanted so. The smile was now a mirrored image from the Goddess who now carefully carried her daughter away. She noticed Persephone's skin slowly losing the last remains of her surfer-tan, leaving the alabaster skin tone of ancient nobility behind. Her cheekbones slowly became a bit more pronounced than before, further adding to her aristocratic appearance. The most noticeable change would remain hidden for now, though. Persephone would have to open her eyes before she could admire their new chocolate colour. She would wait for now, but even when passing Lupa, the Goddess refused to raise her own eyes from her daughter.

A loud feral roar escaped the lips of Clarisse La Rue. The whip sliced through the air before making a loud snap, coaxing the exhausted horses to even greater speed. The sound of another snap drove the horses even further on until they finally couldn't go any further. Ares's daughter jumped out of the chariot, her eyes ablaze with anger, a heavy spear, Maimer, in her left hand and the whip in the other. For a moment she gazed upon the horses and raised the whip, then she gave another roar and threw the whip down, leaving it unbloodied like every evening.

The girl turned around and rammed her spear into the closest of the straw men which she placed into this abandoned corner of the campgrounds. Clarisse kept roaring and growling whilst slaughtering the straw army, leaving the only recognisable words to escape her mouth insults.

When killing them was not enough, Clarisse started to mutilate the straw dolls with her bare hands, leaving nothing even barely resembling a human in her wake.

"Fuck!" She yelled angry, whilst scratching a dolls stomach wide open. "Fuck!"

Another straw corpse was desecrated when she tore it's head off. "Fuck!"

When nothing resembling a human but herself remained on the field, she sank upon her knee's.

"Fuck!" She whispered once more.

"Shsst." Whispered the soothing voice of her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, whilst embracing her from behind. "It will be all right."

"It won't be all right, Chris." Whispered Clarisse back, before her voice gained a much harsher tone. "It shouldn't be. They should pay, they all should fucking pay!"

"I know." Chris whispered whilst nudging his chin against her shoulder. "I know. Even if she wouldn't, we would."

"They deserve it, they deserve everything she would bring down upon them, everything! She's the Hero of the Olympus, there was hardly a single soul around she hasn't saved and they practically chase her out of the camp for a traitor." Clarisse told him angrily.

"How is it possible, Chris? I leave this place for a month and everything goes to Hades." Clarisse whispered.

"You know why." Chris told her. "Because they know better than trying to take you both on."

Clarisse sniggered. "That's right, wimps couldn't deal with us both, so they wait till they can put a knife in her back when she's alone!. No wonder that spawn of Athena was behind it, a dagger and an invisibility cap, it couldn't be more suiting!"

Chris showed a small smile.

"They'll regret it soon enough, Clarisse." Chris reminded her. "It's only a matter of time before the monsters return in full strength and they'll notice the gap that Persephone left behind. Then it's only a matter of time before the funeral pyres are lit. Luke is a swordsman, good for a tournament but he's no a warrior or a warlord."

Clarisse smirked. "Yeah, I wonder how long he'll remain popular when he stops holding their hand and forces them through the same boot-camp as Persephone did."

Chris sniggered for a moment. "They might be appreciating the Ares-Cabin a lot more afterwards."

"Like that will ever happen." Clarisse told him. "You've seen it, what little respect we gained in the war was lost in peace."

"After all brain will always defeat brawn." Clarisse spat, imitating the Athena-cabin. "Those arrogant little shits know no nothing of war."

Clarisse adopted a fake sage voice. "Every plan of engagement will start to unravel upon contact with the enemy."

"Perhaps you should paint that upon their cabin." Chris suggested, showing a small smile.

Clarisse chuckled. "Always a son of Hermes, hm?"

"It cheers you up." Chris told her, still smiling.

"Don't mistake me for a child of Aphrodite." Clarisse said shaking her head, although Chris noticed the small blush upon her cheeks.

Pleased with his little success in cheering her up, Chris told her. "I'd hoped to return to the cabins before the campfire ended."

Clarisse little smile faded away. "Not in the mood." She said. "I'll be staying here for another while.

She paused for a moment. "I'll guess I'll be thinking."

Chris gave a small sigh, knowing her well enough to guess what she would be thinking about.

"It wasn't your fault, Clarisse." He assured her.

"I know that!" Clarisse said, almost screamed at him. "It's just that, what if I hadn't left her here to kill that Drakon and ... Well, it's so obvious in hindsight that she liked girls, I mean she dropped so many hints and I never realised. Gods, if I could take even half of the things I said in reply back."

"She knew you well enough to pay no attention to those words, Clarisse, besides it isn't like so many others noticed that she preferred girls."

"I know. It's just, I keep imagining the what ifs." Clarisse told him tiredly.

"Trust me on this, Clarisse." Chris whispered before sighing. "Don't wonder about those what ifs, I know that too well. it's not good for anyone."

Chris showed her a small, sad smile before continuing. "Like a certain girl told me, it isn't as if too much thinking ever did anyone good, anyway."

Clarisse chuckled shortly and punched his shoulder, before her smile disappeared and she turned around again.

"And?" Mark asked Chris when he came wandering back. The son of Ares had raised his head up for a moment and straightened his back before leaning back against the tree stump.

The son of Hermes shook his head in reply.

Mark spat upon a patch of nearby grass before giving a sigh himself.

"You ain't with her?" He asked Chris. " Isn't that a boyfriend's job?"

Chris shook his head again. "It's better for her to get some that rage out her system first.

Chris smiled for a moment. "Shouldn't you know that better than I do? She's your sibling!"

"You know a brother who understands his sister?" Mark asked in return with fake surprise, causing Chris to chuckle again.

Both stared at moment at the largest camp-fire where the majority of the campers had gathered.

"Idiots." Mark whispered venomously.

"I won't try to argue with you on that." Chris replied, his voice grew angrier for a moment when he continued. "Even if some of them are my siblings."

Mark shrugged. "Every family has idiots, some more than others."

"Clarisse is still beating herself up?" a harsh voice asked from behind them.

"She still is, Sherman." Mark told him.

Sherman sighed for a moment before planting the butt of his spear in the earth and rested his shield against the ashen shaft.

Chris raised his head for a moment to acknowledge the presence of his girlfriend's other half-sibling. Like most descendants of Ares, Mark and Sherman were broad and bulky. Two strong teens who reminded Chris strongly of a grizzly bear and both were just as aggressive and dangerous. Like their father they sported a military attitude and a similar haircut. Sherman had further added to the resemblance by acquiring a diagonal scar on his left cheek during the skirmishes in the war against the Titans.

Said teen gave a loud relieved sigh when he sat down and placed his helmet next to him, giving the scarred skin some access to fresh air.

"How was the tour?" Chris asked him.

"Silent, no sign of monsters or new demigods approaching." Sherman told him. The teen scratched his scar, absent minded. "No need to worry, we ain't forgetting to watch the border just because the head of the Ares-Cabin is a bit distracted."

"Good for you, Clarisse would tear you a new one if she would ever find out otherwise."

Sherman snorted in reply, but both Mark and Chris sniggered.

"Seems the kids are breaking up." Mark noted after a while.

"Well it is time for the little children to go to bed." Sherman replied without bothering to raise his head.

Both sons of Ares showed a broad smirk when they noticed some of the campers staring at them and the other small fires around which children of Ares and Aphrodite had settled themselves.

Chris could hear Sherman whisper "ungrateful little wimps" when the campers turned their head away from their fire. It wasn't for long before all three heard the sound of quickly approaching wings.

The teens waited for a moment before Chris and Mark exchanged a glance and pointed their gaze at Sherman.

"What? Oh no, I'm tired and just here, there is no way I am getting up." Sherman muttered protesting.

"Sorry, bro but the majority has spoken, that's democracy for you." Mark told his half-brother with a broad smirk upon his face.

"Besides," Chris said whilst lazily pointing his nose at the teen's breastplate and greaves, "Unlike us, you're all dolled up.

Mark sniggered loudly whilst Sherman, grumbling loudly, reached for his spear and shield.

For a moment nothing seemed to happen, then the head of a woman seemed to be shot at them. Sherman pointed his spear her, whilst raising his shield protectively in front of him, showing of the V shaped drakon upon the shield. The teen showed an evil grin for a few seconds, then he roared a battle cry.

Another flutter of wings and the harpy stopped almost instantly, although it still kept staring at him angrily.

"You gonne be brave, little turkey?" Sherman asked her with a dark tone in his voice.

"Campers out of bed! Dinner for," The Harpy yelled before a quick lunge cut her screeching off.

"Don't even fucking dream about it." Sherman whispered angrily at her.

For another moment both stared at each other, then Chris noticed another ripple in the darkness behind her head and then she was gone, once more hidden in the darkness due to her dark feathers.

"To think that those things once scared me." Chris muttered with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

"They ain't scary any more." Sherman whispered. "At least not to me."

Both Chris and Mark rolled their eyes in reply upon his boasting.

"And I?" A female voice asked angrily. "Am I still scary to you?"

"You're ..." Sherman started before turning around and gulping.

"I am very scary to you, is it not?" Clarisse La Rue told him, grinding the butt of Maimer in the dirt whilst the tip was crackling with electricity.

Mark chuckled loudly, to loud to be healthy for him, but he covered it up by quickly nodding.

"Scary?" Chris asked her innocently, although even his father's blood couldn't keep a rather mischievous expression from his sharp features. "I don't know."

"Ooh, is it?" Clarisse asked him, now pointing a slightly softer glare at her boyfriend.

"I'd use other words." Chris continued on the same innocent tone. "Badass seems much more suiting."

"Nice save, hero." Muttered Clarisse whilst dragging her boyfriend away from her brothers. "Anything else happened?"

"You'll like the news." Chris told her.

"Really?"

"Yes, Thalia is back."

If you read it this far, would you mind leaving a review?