The camp rang with the loud sound of a horn being blown. Many of the campers woke from their slumbers grumbling about the rude wake up call. They slowly began to dress themselves and make their ways to the middle of the camp where the strange man from the night before sat. His attire was a bit different, opting for a mask that covered only half of his face, more specifically the clear side. He was dressed in robes and was seemingly meditating as he waited for the people to arrive.

"Sir," Clarisse said as she walked up to the man. Throwing a salute in the air, she stood there. One of his eyes peeked open as he looked up at her.

"What in the absolute fuck are you doing?" he asked. She dropped her hand and stared at him shocked. His eyes closed again and he turned back to his meditation.

"I'm waiting on your orders, sir," she said. She was still shocked at how Equinox had reacted to her trying to show respect.

"Orders," he said, seemingly to himself. "Right, right. And enough of this sir thing. I don't like it. Doesn't fit me well. Now. For your training, I want you to run five laps around the camp. Anyone who skips will cause you to run another ten laps. Do this first, then get breakfast. Afterwards, you'll meet me in the arena." This string of orders caused many groans of discomfort to rise from the campers. All were ignored by the man as he went back to meditating.

"Is that it?" Clarisse asked. It was more of a sarcastic comment, but Equinox seemed to take it seriously.

"Yes," he answered, opening one eye. "For now, at least." More groaning rose from the camp as they all began the laps. The Ares cabin led the camp, being some of the more athletic. Behind them trailed the Hephaestus cabin and some of the minor god cabins. The rest of the cabins lagged about, going at a mild walk.

"This won't do, Percy," Ares said as he walked up behind the demigod. The young man only chuckled.

"They're just starting out," he said. "The day will get a lot harder the more it progresses. How long has it been since the trial?" Ares crossed his arms as he observed the campers. How long had it been? A year? Two? A decade?

"Too long, Punk," he said. "You keep doing what you're doing here. Get them prepared for this." He turned and began to walk to the direction of the Big House. "And one more thing." Percy looked to him, a smirk playing on the half of his face that was clear.

"What would that be, Sir?" he said, chuckling as he called the General of Olympus that. Ares laughed and kept walking.

"Take care of her," he said between breaths. "Or you won't return next time." Percy smiled at that notion, knowing he had the war god's blessing. Pulling his sword from his sheath, he began to head towards the arena. He would wait for the demigods to arrive there, ready to begin battle training.

"I'm not sure about him," Clarisse said to one of her sisters. "He seems familiar, but I don't know from where." They were sitting in the amphitheatre with the rest of the demigods, eating breakfast after the long run. By this time it was more like lunch. Piper, who had overheard this statement, stood behind her.

"He's staying in the Ares cabin," she said, trying to offer her opinion. "Maybe he's one of your brothers." Clarisse shook her head, a frustrated look growing on her face.

"I don't think that's the right answer," she said. "Ares called him 'a noble warrior' not his son. But if he was such a good warrior, wouldn't we have known about him?" Piper nodded in agreement and looked at the watch on her wrist.

"Speaking of him," the daughter of Aphrodite said with an exasperated sigh. "We should probably start heading over to the Arena. I doubt he'd like it if people showed up late." They were one of the first groups to leave, most of the other demigods following after. As people began to trickling in, Equinox had taken a break from his own training regiment. Millions of bits of automatons were strown out across the ground. People watched in amazement as a shirtless Equinox strolled to the forming crowd. His body was covered in scars, much like his face. The only difference was they didn't stop on half of his body. He looked toward Clarisse and motioned for her to come forward.

"What would you have me do?" she asked. Wiping the sweat from his eyes with a toned arm, he spoke up.

"You and me are going to be sparring partners," he said, chuckling. "Everyone else." He turned to the crowd and addressed them. "Find a partner. I'll show you how to improve your attacks and strengthen your defenses." One of the campers raised their hand. He looked at them with a raised eyebrow, waiting for them to speak up.

"What makes you think we need your help?" the boy said, a son of Apollo. Equinox laughed, quietly at first, then slowly increasing in volume.

"Are you kidding me?" he shouted, suddenly turning serious. "You're weak. A small force of their army almost destroyed you. Ares called me out of Tartarus for a reason. And I'll be damned if I fail him." Many campers gasped at this revelation. It was even a surprise to the Ares cabin themselves.

"Yeah, well," the Apollo camper said, stuttering over his own words. "They outnumbered us pretty bad." Equinox just laughed again.

"It doesn't matter how many of them there are," he said. "As long as you know how to defend yourself, then you can still win." The son of Apollo scoffed, quickly regaining his confidence. Even Clarisse had to admit, four or five against one would certainly be hard to beat.

"Me and my brothers challenge you," the camper said. Four other sons of Apollo nodded in agreement and readied their weapons. The crowd made room for them and the group moved to the center of the Arena. Equinox nodded and stood in the middle of the circle of them.

"Choose your weapon," the challenger said. Equinox shrugged and readied himself into a fighting stance, putting his fists up in front of him.

"You do you," he said. "I'm still going to win." This statement only enraged the five sons of Apollo. Two of them charged forward, swords drawn. The first one swung into an easily blockable overhead swipe. Equinox deflected it and redirected the momentum to the other camper. Both of them ran straight into each other and butted heads, effectively putting them down. The third one charge Equinox alone, dashing at his back. The man turned , catching the camper in a hard uppercut. The poor kid launched backwards almost two yards. Equinox smirked as he landed with a thud. Turning towards the other two, he held his hands out. Both of the kids shook their heads and opted to go collect their brothers rather than fight.

"Alright," Equinox said, turning the impressed crowd. "I can't guarantee it'll always be like that, but you can win most of these fights. Starting tomorrow, I'll show you how to use different weapons. Until then, I'll help you in your unarmed combat. Now. Partner up."

Ayyyy. I did it. This took a bit to write, but I think I'm finally starting to get back into it. Thanks for the people who like it. If you want, you can follow and/or favorite this. Leave a review too. Thanks for the read. And until next time. Bye.