***Hi all! For everyone who has been following my version of Blood of Olympus, this is the Capture the Flag game that takes place between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter after the end of the Giant War. The story is set at Camp Half-Blood. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but as I was writing, the story got bigger than originally planned. So now, instead, it's going to be nine chapters, one from each of the point-of-view characters, who will be the Seven, plus Reyna and Nico. Hope you enjoy! The next chapter will be up by Monday, August 25.***
GREEK I - Percy
When Annabeth assigned him to guard duty, at first Percy thought she was kidding. Then, he wondered if he'd done something to make her mad, even though she insisted that wasn't the case.
"It's not a punishment, Percy," she finally said, exasperated. "You're the son of Poseidon. I need you by the creek so you can use the water to help keep the Romans out of our territory."
"But that's so boring." The two of them were walking down from the Big House, where the Greek head counselors had been putting the final touches on their plans for the Capture the Flag game against the Romans. As they reached the arena, near the edge of the woods, Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand, forcing her to turn and look at him. He fixed her with his best pleading look. "Come on, Annabeth. Let me be on offense. Please."
"Gods, Piper was right about those baby seal eyes," Annabeth muttered. For a moment, Percy dared to hope that he'd win, but then she shook her head. "Percy, just trust me. I have a plan. And I need you on defense by the creek."
"Fine," he grumbled, dropping her hand so he could draw Riptide from his pocket.
"You're cute when you pout." Annabeth kissed him, which made Percy feel marginally better. "Now, help me find Leo. I want to make sure he has everything ready to go."
They found Leo with the rest of the Hephaestus campers at the edge of the woods, each of them loaded down with blowtorches, hammers, and a lot of other tools that Percy didn't know the names for. Leo had a slightly maniacal gleam in his eyes, but he grinned as he walked over to them.
Percy still found it hard to believe that the guy was dating Calypso. The two of them seemed happy together, though, which Percy was glad to see. However, things between Percy and Calypso were still awkward. Percy hated to admit it, but he was relieved Calypso wasn't here this evening. She'd left after breakfast to visit some old Nereid friends and wouldn't be back until tomorrow.
"Great day for a war," Leo said cheerfully.
"War game," Annabeth corrected. "Do you have everything?"
"Yep." Leo set down the canvas bag he was carrying with a loud CLANG. Percy knew it was loaded with Celestial bronze pieces. Leo patted the bag proudly. "It's not great for stealth, but give us twenty minutes and those woods will be bursting with trip-lines, snares, nets, and all sorts of other super-fun traps. The Romans won't know what hit them."
"Frank will be expecting this," Percy pointed out, as he had done at every planning meeting over the last two days. "And the Romans will have set up their own traps on their side of the woods."
"True, but Zhang won't know exactly where our traps are, or what they do." Leo wiggled his eyebrows. "And I guarantee you the Roman traps won't be nearly as cool as mine."
"We still have to neutralize Hazel," Percy said. "She'll be able to sense all that bronze."
"Don't worry about Hazel. We have a plan to distract her." Annabeth looked critically at the Hephaestus camper's assembled tools and gear. "The Apollo and Ares cabins are going to be defending the border. They should be able to buy you twenty minutes to set up, but try to get it done faster. If all the cohorts attack at once, our lines might not hold."
Leo nodded and gave her the thumbs-up. "We'll get it done."
A conch horn sounded, signaling that the teams could get into place.
"That's our cue!" Leo called to his cabin-mates. He swung his bag of bronze back over his shoulder, looking like a skinny Latino Santa Claus who, from the sound of it, only gave out metal gifts. Leo shot Percy and Annabeth another crazy grin, then disappeared into the trees with the rest of his cabin.
"Guess I'll head over to the creek," Percy said. "Unless you'd rather send me to help Jason with—"
"The creek is perfect." Annabeth smiled sweetly. "And go north, near where the Labyrinth entrance used to be."
"Great, could I be any further from the action?" Percy complained.
"Just trust me, Seaweed Brain. Remember, Athena always has a plan." Annabeth gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then jogged off to where the majority of the Greek campers were assembled.
Percy wasn't thrilled with this particular plan of Athena's, but he did trust Annabeth. He uncapped Riptide, which sprang to full size in his hand. Gripping the sword, he set off into the woods, heading for the creek.
Watching the boundary was about as boring as Percy expected. He couldn't hear anything from the rest of the game. Around him, the woods were quiet; he didn't even hear any monsters stomping around. Percy played with the creek water, making it rise and form different shapes in the air, while trying hard not to think about the Battle of the Labyrinth. The pile of rocks that used to be Zeus's Fist was in a clearing not far from him.
Percy was in the process of making the water take the shape of a lightning bolt (hooray, more happy memories), when he heard a sharp snap, as if someone had stepped on a twig. The water splashed back into the creek as Percy turned, raising Riptide.
He saw nothing.
Wondering if he was being paranoid, Percy moved closer to the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of movement. Before he could react, something heavy hit him hard on the side of the head.
Percy collapsed, landing beside the creek, dazed. His sword rolled out of his limp fingers. Just before he blacked out, Percy caught a glimpse of what might have been a stuffed panda bear, dangling from someone's belt.
