Chapter 9

General POV

When the four cabins were called out for the game, all of them gathered around. That, of course, included the new addition of Marcus and Percy. But strangely, instead of playing on the Hermes Athena Apollo Alliance, Chiron put Marcus on Ares Hephaestus Dionysus Aphrodite Alliance Team.

The reason was that the two teams were too unbalanced, so Marcus was borrowed and placed into the latter.

"Sup, twerp," called a girl from Ares Cabin. When an unknown girl approached him with not-so-friendly intentions, Marcus unknowingly blurted out with his loose mouth.

"And who the fuck are you?" The girl gasped, not expecting Marcus to curse.

Marcus knew a little about her; she was the one who fought Percy in the bathroom. He didn't know why in the bathroom, but it was known throughout the camp. Still, he was not willing to entertain her since he found her annoying to look at.

"Ah! let me rephrase that. Who are you?" Marcus rephrased, not bothering to apologize for his initial behavior.

"Who am I? I'm the daughter of Ares, Clarisse, and the Headgirl of Ares Cabin." The girl named Clarisse introduced herself quite proudly, but Marcus only gave her a sidelong glance, unimpressed.

"And what am I supposed to do with that information?"

"What's wrong with you? I'm trying to formally introduce myself so we can get along on the same side since we're a team. At least introduce yourself too!" She blurted out, quite angry.

"Sigh… okay, I'm Marcus. You happy?" Marcus responded annoyedly.

"You! If we weren't on the same team, I would've punched you in the face!"

"Oh, go ahead if you dare, red head!" He challenged and stood up, looking at her straight in the eye.

Clarisse was left speechless by Marcus's bold attitude. She was known to be the camp bully, and no one dared to talk back to her, but this guy not only dared to ignore her but also challenged her.

"After this game is over and you still have that feisty attitude, you can come and challenge me, red head." Marcus said and walked away before grabbing a gladius from the rack.

Clarisse was left in shock, and others too were left in shock. But when they met Clarisse's glare, they avoided her gaze and pretended they didn't see anything.

'That damn twerp!'

"Teams, are you all ready?" Chiron asked.

Then all of the teams gathered around.

"I see, all of you are ready now. Remember the rules, okay?"

They all nodded at Chiron. The two teams faced each other, and Marcus could see Percy's nervous jittering across the team, and he smirked.

He then looked at Annabeth, who had this hardened veteran look. She was glaring at his team, specifically Clarisse.

He changed his gaze and looked at Luke, the Hermes Cabin Counselor, or Headboy, or something. Marcus always had this bad feeling around this guy. He felt that this guy stole something from him, but he can't pinpoint what it is, so he ignored it most of the time. But he still remained vigilant, though.

'Not gonna lie, I'm kinda excited. I've fought monsters, but this would be my first time fighting demigods.' Marcus thought.

"Okay, teams, get ready! A—nd go!"

When the signal was given, the two teams headed to their respective areas where their flags lay.

Marcus's flag was placed in the middle of the deep woods, while the enemy had theirs situated near the end of the woods, near the weird rock called Zeus's Fist. And just between the creek.

Clarisse assumed the position of leader since no one from Hephaestus Cabin wanted to, so she started giving out commands.

"Two will remain here to guard the flag. You, Hephaestus Cabin, will go with my Campers to distract Luke, while I and the others will go for Percy," she commanded. Then she pulled out her spear that was making some sparks.

It was told within the camp that the spear was gifted to her by her father Ares. It had the power to electrocute those who touched it.

Marcus eyed the spear and thought.

'Pretty nifty, but I bet I can do much more than zap.'

If we are talking about lightning, then Marcus would leave that pitiful spear in the dust, but he wouldn't reveal it until necessary nor would he hide it.

"And you, come with me. I'll show you why you should've never messed with me!" She said to Marcus and ran toward the opposite direction without waiting for him.

Soon, the forest was filled with battle cries and the sounds of weapons clashing against each other. All of them headed to where the creek is, or the border, since the Creek is the border of the map.

In there, Clarisse saw Percy alone near the creek.

Percy's POV

Alone and standing with my large blue-feathered helmet and oversized shield, I felt foolish. The bronze sword, like all the ones I'd tried so far, felt poorly balanced. The leather grip tugged on my hand like a bowling ball.

Could anyone actually attack me? I mean, Olympus must have liability concerns, right?

In the distance, the conch horn sounded. I could hear shouts and cheers in the woods, the clashing of metal, and kids engaged in combat. An ally from Apollo, marked with a blue-plumed helmet, sped past me like a deer, jumped across the creek, and vanished into enemy territory.

Fantastic, I thought. Once again, I'll miss out on all the excitement.

Then I caught a sound that sent shivers down my spine: a low growl, seemingly nearby.

I instinctively raised my shield; I had the eerie sensation that something was stalking me.

The growling ceased, and I felt the presence withdraw.

Across the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors charged out of the darkness, yelling and screaming.

"Cream the punk!" Clarisse shouted.

Her eyes, barely visible through the slits of her helmet, glared fiercely. She wielded a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her companions wielded standard-issue bronze swords, though that wasn't much consolation.

They surged across the stream. I was on my own; there was no help in sight. I could flee or face off against half the Ares cabin.

I managed to evade the first kid's swing, but these opponents weren't as dimwitted as the Minotaur. They encircled me, and Clarisse lunged with her spear. My shield deflected the blow, but a painful tingling coursed through my body. My hair stood on end, my shield arm went numb, and the air sizzled with a burning sensation.

Electricity. Her spear was electrified. I staggered back.

Another Ares guy thwacked me in the chest with the pommel of his sword, and I collapsed.

Amid their laughter, they could have pummeled me into pulp. "Give him a haircut," Clarisse ordered. "Grab his hair."

I struggled to my feet, sword raised, but Clarisse thwarted my attempt as sparks flew from her spear. Both my arms were now numb.

"Wow," Clarisse sneered. "I'm genuinely scared of this guy."

"The flag is that way," I retorted, attempting to sound angry, though my fear seeped through.

"Sure," one of her companions chimed in. "But you see, we're not concerned about the flag. We're bothered by the guy who made our cabin look foolish."

"You can manage that without my assistance," I countered, though it probably wasn't the most strategic thing to say.

Two of them advanced toward me. I backed up, heading for the creek, trying to raise my shield. However, Clarisse was too swift. Her spear found its mark, stabbing me in the ribs. Luckily, my armored breastplate prevented a more grievous wound.

The jolt of electricity from her spear sent shockwaves through me, numbing my senses. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a sizable gash.

Seeing my own blood left me simultaneously hot and cold. "No maiming," I managed to utter.

"Whoops," the guy muttered. "I guess I've lost my dessert privilege."

With a shove, he pushed me into the creek, and I splashed into the water. Laughter erupted from the Ares group. I assumed that once their amusement subsided, I would meet my demise.

Then something unexpected occurred. The water reawakened my senses, akin to consuming a bag of my mother's double-espresso jelly beans.

Clarisse and her comrades ventured into the creek to seize me, yet I rose to confront them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword at the first guy's head, sending his helmet flying. My blow was so forceful that I witnessed his eyes vibrating as he toppled into the water.

Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three charged at me. I bashed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to slice off the other's horsehair plume. Both recoiled swiftly. Ugly Number Four seemed hesitant to engage, but Clarisse persisted. The tip of her spear crackled with energy. The instant she thrust, I caught the shaft between my shield's edge and my sword, snapping it like a twig.

"Ah!" she shrieked. "You imbecile!"

She might have said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with the pommel of my sword, sending her stumbling backward out of the creek.

Then I heard cheers, jubilant screams. I observed Luke sprinting toward the boundary line, the red team's banner held high. Hermes companions shielded his retreat, with a few Apollos behind them, fending off the Hephaestus contingent.

The Ares group picked themselves up, and Clarisse muttered a bewildered curse.

"A ruse!" she exclaimed. "It was a ruse."

They pursued Luke, but it was too late. A frenzy erupted at the creek as Luke crossed into friendly territory. Our side erupted in celebration. Victory was imminent; the flag lay inches away, unguarded. The game was over. We had emerged victorious.

Just as I was about to join the festivities, Annabeth's voice, right beside me in the creek, remarked, "Impressive, hero."

I looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Where on earth did you learn to fight like that?" she inquired. The air shimmered, and she materialized, clutching a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just removed it from her head.

I felt a surge of anger. The fact that she'd been invisible barely fazed me. "You orchestrated this," I accused. "You placed me here, knowing Clarisse would target me, while you directed Luke around the flank. You had everything planned out."

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

Then out of nowhere, I heard slow clapping from near the bush, then I saw someone familiar. It was Marcus.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Good job, but it seems all of you are getting something wrong. The game isn't over yet."

****

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