I definitely ate my fill in the big house. They had these mad convenient empty glasses that filled up with whatever drink you imagined. I asked for vodka from the motherland but… you know, shitty rules. Apparently, alcohol was prohibited on the camp. So, I settled for protein shakes and energy drinks.

 

“Are you sure you won’t explode?” Thalia questioned.

 

“A fighter should eat his fill.” I grinned, taking a look at all the senior ‘counsellors’. One of them had to be the leader of the Ares Cabin. “Besides, I was fighting Ares for ages. That motherfucker is one persistent bastard… and all he gave me was divine… drinks. No food at all. I didn’t ask for any since the drinks were so bloody good but still.”

 

I was going to say something about divine vodka but I recalled the no-alcohol rule. Ares was pretty chill so I wasn’t going to rat him out. Besides, that might sabotage my own stash of vodka if they got suspicious.

 

“You fought Ares?” 

 

This girl who was bulky like some rugby player spoke up. She didn’t look all that tall compared to me but she definitely was a whole lot bigger than any girl I had seen. Her face wasn’t exactly the prettiest to look at but damn, she definitely did work out to get those muscles. I respected that way more than putting several pounds of makeup on your face.

 

“Kicked his ass a bunch, too.” I chuckled, looking her in the eye. She did… remind me of Ares. “Though, I won’t lie, he beat me up a few times as well. It was the most fun I had in ages. You’re one of his girls?”

 

“Yeah.” Her eyes narrowed like she was going to do something.

 

“That’s perfect. Who’s the bossman for your cabin… don't tell me they're on winter vacation?”

 

“Me, Clarisse La Rue. All year round.”

 

“The leader of the Ares Cabin… is a girl?” I raised an eyebrow. Honestly, I thought it would be some seven foot tall grown man who is one hundred and forty kilograms of pure muscle. 

 

Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed.

 

“You got a problem with that, kid?”

 

Did she call me a kid? I'm 100% older than her.

 

Actually… This is perfect. A fight would settle it.

 

“I’d break you in two, little girl.” I replied, grinning slightly. “You know, since your daddy wanted me to be part of your club, I might as well be its bossman. You can step down and get in the kitchen or something. Make me sandwiches.”

 

“You… want to die!?” She got off her chair and spoke up with a harsh tone. Her eyes lit up with fury a bit like her dad’s. 

 

“Dennis, do not instigate a fight between your fellow campers.” 

 

Chiron looked at me. Previously he was talking about some stuff with Annabeth but we had caught his attention. He had this calming voice that made me want to remain sitting and maybe munch on a few more chicken wings. 

 

“Clarisse, please sit down. This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves.”

 

“Tch… watch what happens outside, meatface.” Clarisse glared at me. Her nose tensed up like an angry pig's.

 

“Don’t forget to bring all of your goons.” I smiled, having a chug of Monster Energy. “I can’t wait to beat you all up at once.”

 

“...”

 

We shared a staredown and I was never going to be the first one to back down.

 

In the end, she looked away first and sat back down.

 

I thought as much.

 

Chiron gave me that look I had seen on a couple of teachers when they saw me do Dennis tings (which usually meant fighting). They looked at me like I was a lot more of a handful than every other student around me… which, admittedly, I tend to be. I like to do shit my way which usually means breaking the rules.

 

After that, he talked more about Kronos and stuff. He seemed like a big deal, that titan guy. Apparently he is the King of Titans and direct father of the eldest Greek gods. So, technically, that guy would be Rokas' grandfather. Leave it to the Greek gods to have problems with their family.

 

It doesn't matter, really. I had to thank Kronos for one thing - gathering this supposedly big army. Titans, demi-gods, monsters… beating them all would be fun. I could push myself to my limits. See what I really can do.

 

…

 

Eventually, Rokas returned from his trip to the toilet with Percy Jackson and that other kid.

 

"That was a long ass bathroom break. What were you mans doing in there?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Had a run in with an undead skeleton." Percy explained. "The kind that don't die… usually. Rokas stuffed it with Stygian iron spikes from the ground and after that it got sent to the underworld."

 

"You can do that?" I asked, looking at him.

 

"Guess so." Rokas shrugged. "I really do need to get a hang of these powers."

 

"Man like Big Three Rocky. Prince of the Underworld, huh." I remarked. "Guess you really should be the strongest in our group, right? Stronger… than me."

 

"Well…" He scratched his hair. 

 

"I'm going to hold you to that standard, Rocky. Wherever you're hiding all that power… I'm going to make you bring it all out sooner or later. Even if I have to beat it out of you."

 

"... Sure. I'd love to see what I'm capable of." He didn't seem too bothered. I swear his lips curled into a slight mischievous grin. The same one he had when he challenged Zeus. "Just don't cry if you start losing."

 

The old Rokas would never, ever, tell me that. He would sooner hide behind James or just let it slide. Not that wimp…

 

He did grow up more than I thought. 

 

"Heh…"

 

I couldn't hide my own grin.

 

"I should be telling you that. You won't go crying to James and Harry when it gets difficult… or will you?"

 

Even though he didn't say anything back, I knew the answer through his face. He looked determined… It was the look of someone who wanted to be stronger. 

 

Someone who wanted to be an equal.

 

“...” His determined greyish blue eyes looked at me. “I seek my own strength.”

 

“Say no more.”

 

~

 

After the meeting, Chiron decided to get us properly settled. We got a tour of the camp which was honestly full of shit to do. 

 

They had basketball hoops, a volleyball court, a building for making shit like marble statues and painting, a canoe lake, a whole theatre, an arena, armoury, forge, a stables where they had horses with wings (I needed one), two climbing walls that closed on each other if you were too slow and a whole strawberry field which I had seen before.

 

It made our secondary school look like a grey prison in comparison. I felt like I was at home. 

 

Imagine this place in the summer…

 

I won’t have to study for those useless tests on subjects that I’ll never give a shit about past the age of eighteen (and completely forget about in a few months after finishing school), I can just train all day with people like me. It was my type of paradise. 

 

Lastly, Chiron took us to this crappy old looking cabin.

 

I was not staying there.

 

“In the Summer, the Hermes Cabin is… crowded.” Chiron remarked, stroking his beard. He was in his half-horse form, hips down. At this point, I had seen weirder things. 

 

“Unfortunately, only the Olympians except Hades have cabins in Camp-Half Blood. That means despite being determined as sons of Thanatos and Hades respectively, you will be staying in the Hermes Cabin where you are welcome."

 

“...” Rokas opened the door and looked inside. There were a few kids in there just chilling. “It’s alright.”

 

“Bruddah, I got the honorary Ares Cabin thing.” I looked at Chiron, tossing the coin Ares had given me earlier. 

 

“... I see.” Chiron observed the coin, nodding. “Very well, you will be a part of the Ares Cabin. Though… I would have thought you would have preferred to stay with your friend.”

 

“Rocky doesn’t need me to hold his hand.” I replied, shaking my head.

 

Hopefully, he will realise how disrespectful that was and do something about it… Mr 'Big Three’.

 

That’s not my problem at the moment, though.

 

“I’m good.” Rokas reaffirmed, managing a slight smile. “This reminds me of a relative's old farm.”

 

“Alright, I’m going to the Ares cabin.” I turned around.

 

“It is Cabin Five, Dennis.” Chiron informed me. “Take care not to trespass into any other cabins, least of all, the first three.”

 

The idea of taking a piss on Zeus’ front door sounded appealing, I won’t lie. 

 

“I won’t.” I replied, grinning slightly. “I’m going straight to Cabin Five.”

 

“... Clarisse will be your guide for now. Follow her lead and get adjusted to life in Camp Half-Blood. Any questions you have, feel free to ask her.”

 

Follow her lead? Yeah right.

 

“No problem.” I gave him a thumbs-up before going along my way. 

 

Chiron… did not look convinced. I gotta say, Charon was a LOT cooler. 

 

…

 

Cabin Five looked pretty cool, for the most part. It had a bit too much red, the barbed wire on the roof was somewhat intimidating and there seemed to be landmines around the actual cabin. There was a boar head at the doorway, starting right at me with its red eyes.

 

There was obnoxiously loud (and shit) rock music blaring from the cabin. 

 

The door itself looked barricaded. 

 

BANG.

 

I walked up to it and kicked the door down… accidentally. I just wanted to open it. Oops.

 

"Who the fuck broke in!?"

 

"Dennis the fucking Menace."

 

I grinned, taking a look inside. There were six bunk beds, tons of weapons and armour sprawled out over the floor and the ugliest group of half-dozen kids I had ever seen (including Clarisse). 

 

"Well, well, well." Clarisse's eyes lit up. "Look who showed up at our front door. The weakling I was telling you all about. He loves to act tough."

 

"Let's teach him a lesson!"

 

All six of them charged me almost at the same time. In a compact space like that, I wouldn't be able to fight back as well… so I stepped out of the cabin and forced the first one to charge me alone through the doorway. 

 

He had a whole spear with him and did not shy away from trying to poke some holes in me with it. I dodged and weaved, moving in at the right time and smashing his face in with a down right hook.

 

I hit him so hard he dropped to the floor immediately.

 

One down… easy stuff.

 

The next two managed to force themselves through the doorway and I moved further out from the cabin. They were pretty eager, trying to catch me off guard. I remained focused and kept my feet moving, deflecting or outright dodging their attacks. As I stepped further away from the cabin, the five of them spaced out to surround me.

 

Five to one… I like those odds. They’re not as strong as I imagined them to be.

 

"Now that I think about it, you haven't gone through the initiation, have you?" Clarisse smiled, pointing her sword at me. "After you beg for forgiveness, I'll gladly do the honours. Dunking your head in a toilet will be too fun."

 

"Dunking my head in the toilet?" I blinked, chuckling after. "You Americans are so goofy. Come to think of it… your name sounds French. That's even worse than being American."

 

Clarisse grit her teeth. "We'll do something about your big mouth."

 

"You ain't doing shit but getting your ass beat."

 

All five of them charged at once…

 

I leapt into the air… high. Very high.

 

This wasn’t something they were expecting, clearly. All five looked up at me like clueless sitting ducks after they charged into each other. 

 

It was time…

 

BED!

 

“What… is… that?”

 

All of them stopped as if they were paralysed. Traumatised… by the terror of the almighty bed. I couldn’t blame them. Sleep was just death knocking, wasn’t it?

 

With all of them crowded right beneath me…

 

BANG.

 

I simply forced my weight down right onto Clarisse’ head, kicking her right into the ground with both of my feet. The others separated, hesitating from shock. I grabbed Clarisse’ sword with my left hand and slashed at the nearest one. I cut through his shirt horizontally and followed up with a right hook that sent him to the ground.

 

Shit, I was pretty good with the sword for a first-timer… I’d say. I guess I’m just a natural fighter. It doesn’t matter what weapon I pick up, I’ll be good at beating up people with it.

 

The other three started looking more angry than scared. They had Ares’ pride and fury, that was for sure. 

 

Two had swords, the other used a spear. The first who attacked me was a girl who looked a bit too young to be getting into fights with me. I felt a little bit bad. But hey, she was swinging a sword at me.

 

I moved my sword to block hers, putting in half-effort. That turned out to be a mistake. Somehow… my sword turned into some plastic shit and she cut right through it. Her next slash aimed for my head. 

 

Alright then… reminder to keep using my fists instead of these fraudulent weapons.

 

BANG.

 

I banged her head with a lightning quick right hook, sending her right down to the ground.

 

The next guy flashed right towards me and I stepped to the side, dodging his attack. The other guy with the spear ran behind me and aimed to poke at my back while I was distracted with the sword guy. 

 

Pussy won’t fight me hand-to-hand… aight.

 

Slash… clang.

 

I called up by fighting gauntlets at the right moment, grabbing the sword guy’s sword. His eyes widened in shock as I grabbed on his sword tightly. 

 

I knew the spear guy was going to poke at me any moment now… so I gave him a nice backhand elbow straight in the face. He staggered back and then I dragged the sword guy by his sword with all my strength… in the direction of the spear guy.

 

The two kids collided into each other with the spear guy dropping to the floor while the sword guy stumbled back and landed right on top of him.

 

As I was going to finish them off, I felt something was off and moved my head.

 

Slash.

 

A knife had scraped by my face, cutting into my cheek a little.

 

I glanced to look and saw my blood drip down. I wiped my face with my gauntlets and turned my attention to Clarisse. 

 

“For Ares’ kids, you goons sure do love attacking from behind.” I grinned. “Well… I do love to fight dirty, too. As long as you win it’s all good, right?”

 

“...” Clarisse didn’t look to be in the mood for words. I guess her brothers and sisters getting beaten up like that wasn’t the best thing to see. “You’ll pay for this!”

 

“You can still chat shit, yeah? Let’s fix that.”

 

As she struggled to get up on her feet, I sprinted right towards her.

 

Bed.

 

She froze still and I leapt into the air just in time, stretching out my feet to perfectly hit her face.

 

It was DROPKICK TIME.

 

BANG.

 

My feet smashed right into her face and almost sent the girl flying. She was forced back several metres, somehow keeping her ground. That was not good for her. I caught up with a few steps and, well…

 

BANG.

 

BANG.

 

BANG.

 

Left, right, left, right…

 

I started busting her face up as she struggled to even put up any sort of defence. Whatever she did put up, I just punched right through it or just went for lethal bodyshots. The only thing keeping her up were my punches, eventually…

 

She was finished.

 

I stopped and let her drop to the ground in her own pool of blood. The claws had cut into her face a little too…

 

Maybe Ares’ gauntlets were a bit extra, I won’t lie.

 

The other kids behind me… they still looked like they wanted to fight. Really…

 

Guess they were stubborn like their dad.

 

Alright… I’ll make sure they don’t get up.

 

I put back my gauntlets into their wristband form and charged right at them.

 

…

 

After testing out WWE moves like bodyslams, clotheslines, RKOs, Spears, Chokeslams… 

They were practically my punching bag and ragdolls.

All of them were on the ground groaning in pain or outright unconscious. I gathered them all on a little hill and sat on top.

 

My point has been proven…

 

I was the strongest here. The boss.

 

Now, I loved fighting, sure… but beating down on weak people wasn’t fun. It didn’t keep my blood pumping like fighting strong people did. That’s why James and I, the only equal I had ever known in my class, were so close. We could fight each other all day…

 

Atlas and Ares… I need to fight guys like that.

 

These kids? Pfft, I can beat them up with my eyes closed and both arms tied behind my back. 

 

I knew that… and I had just made sure that they knew that too. 

 

“Ah man…” I yawned, looking up at the sky. “I thought you lot would be decently strong. We’re all demigods, aren’t we? Maybe you guys just suck.”

 

Oh… I just had an idea.

 

“Since I’m going to be the bossman of this Cabin, you guys being weak reflects on me too… Do you understand? I can’t be the boss of the weakest Cabin… What's the point of that? It makes me look weaker too.” I stood up from the hill of Ares’ kids and walked my way down, kicking a few heads along the way. “Wake up.”

 

I clapped my hands.

 

“WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

 

All I got were groans…

 

I rolled my eyes.

 

These guys are useless.

 

To the side, I saw Chiron in his horse form. He gave me that weird look.

 

“What?” I raised an eyebrow. “I’m just training with my cabinmates, innit.”

 

He sighed, stepping forward with his hooves. “I will get them treated. For now, get yourself adjusted to the cabin.”

 

He came closer to the hill of kids and other weird half-human half goat people… satyrs or whatever they’re called… came over to pick them up from the ground. 

 

“There is no doubt that you are a powerful demi-god, Son of Death.” Chiron changed his tone of voice, sounding something like a wise and serious teacher. “I would say that you even have the potential to be the most dangerous demi-god to have ever lived. But… These are also your fellow demi-gods. They are family, in a way. You would do well to learn to pull your punches.”

 

“... I didn’t hurt them that bad.” I countered, shrugging my shoulders. “The monsters outside would do a whole lot worse if they got caught lacking. These guys should be ready for those kind of fights, where life and death hangs in the balance… and the best way to get ready for those is to have real fights. Fights where you get hurt.”

 

Big man, big words, Cyaamon.

 

“I understand where you are coming from, Dennis.” Chiron nodded. “However, if you, most of all… do not learn to pull your punches to an extent and hold back some of your strength… there may be a time where you kill someone you did not mean to. Do you understand where I am coming from?”

 

“... Yeah, I guess.”

 

“With great power comes great responsibility. You are also older than most of the demi-gods in this camp… and, given your strength, I expect you to be more responsible. If you really want to be the senior counsellor of the Ares Cabin, you should act like it.”

 

“Did you… just quote Spiderman?” I raised an eyebrow.

 

“... Unintentionally, I suppose. Regardless, I expect more from you.”

 

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll beat them up a bit worse next time.” I shrugged my shoulders. 

 

“I will be watching.” Chiron managed a smile. “With the right teaching, you can be a great hero.”

 

A hero…

 

As if I want to be a bloody hero.

 

“Yeah.”

 

I just nodded and headed inside of the Ares Cabin.

 

The rock music was still busting my eardrums open… I went over to the stereo and looked for a way to turn it off. I went directly for the plug, switching it off. Silence followed. No annoying ugly kids running around. Just me.

 

I laid down on one of the beds and just chilled.

 

I thought about what the fuck James and Harry could be doing…

 

Well, James was probably scouting out the chicks at the other camp by now. Trying to see which ones he would shag.

 

Was Rocky getting along with the other guys in the Hermes Cabin? Probably not.

 

My mom… probably bossing around people on the other side of the world. I’d imagine that she felt a bit lonely coming back home to no one. 

 

My dad… I don’t know much about him, to be honest. If he’s the God of Death, is he like the Grim Reaper? Does he walk around in some dodgy black robes with his pointy ass hood… is he a skeleton? I don’t think skeletons have the facilities to make children.

 

I wonder what he thinks about me… 

 

It doesn’t matter, really. I’ve lived without him just fine for sixteen years.

 

Bet he’s too busy collecting dead people to chat to his ‘only’ son even a single time. Or help my mom with all the struggles she went through to raise me alone. 

 

That’s the most important part for me… did everything have to be so hard for her? She’s strong, yeah, but… she really does deserve better.

 

After a while of just laying around, I started feeling… tired. I hadn’t slept in ages despite fighting all the time. 

 

Well, I won’t miss much, anyway…

 

I closed my eyes and let go.

 

…

 

Eventually, I heard people enter the cabin. I woke up and opened my eyes to see all the guys and girls I had beaten up gather around. 

 

They looked pretty good considering the state I had left them in. The cabin was silent despite having seven (including me) usually loud individuals. They all stood around the edges of the room while I stayed in my bunk bed.

 

I guess you could call it awkward.

 

“Now that everyone agrees on my new position as the boss of this cabin, we can move on.” I announced, looking into the eyes of each of them. A few wouldn’t even look at me directly. I didn’t hear any no’s. “What I learned from that fight is that all of you are weak as shit. As long as I’m here, we’re all going to train together to fix that."

 

A few of them looked up as I stood up. 

 

“Yeah, that’s right. You useless goons and me. I’m going to make proper MEN out of every one of you.” I looked around… two were girls. “You girls too. This is the Cabin of Ares, the God of War. You lot are supposed to be the strongest… and not a bunch of pushovers!"

 

"Am I understood!?

 

"Yes."

 

There were some mumbles in agreement. 

 

"I heard the Athena Cabin shits on you losers every fucking time." I remarked. "Percy Jackson with some water on him washes over all of you with hardly any effort, too. Don't you get tired of getting walked over? Of losing!?"

 

"... Yes."

 

"SAY IT WITH YOUR CHEST!"

 

"YES!"

 

"ALRIGHT THEN!" 

 

I smiled, nodding. 

 

"Let's take this camp over."

 

~

 

Post-chapter conference.

 

"You see that, Athena?" Ares chuckled. "We got Dennis the Menace on the squad. Five star recruit, no, a Six Star Recruit. He's on a whole different level. Heh… your cabin can forget about winning any sort of event against mine, even with Annie Bell and her boyfriend."

 

"That's my nickname for her." Mr D intercepted. "Be original."

 

"They are merely friends." Athena crossed her arms. She clearly seemed disturbed by the possibility of such a pairing.

 

"Yeah, right. You haven’t read the Last Olympian, have you?”

 

“This is an alternate timeline, I don’t need to.”

 

“Denial is the first stage of grief.” Apollo remarked.