This piece of the script is written for the writing contest. I've done my best not to make to many faults in my writing, but I'm not English, so that's difficult for me.
It starts with the Game of Flags and ends with Percy's claiming.
What has happened before?
Annabeth showed Percy the camp, and Percy gave Clarisse and her three friends a "shower"in the toilets. Annabeth says she would want Percy in her team for the Game of Flags... And yet the Game of Flags begins
1. EXT – THE FOREST OF CAMP HALFBLOOD – NIGHTFALL
There is the forest of Camp Halfblood: a bushy wilderness with big thees, thorny bushes, dens and big rocks, split in two parts by a winding wild stream.
Somewhere at the right side of the river, there is a Red flag placed in a blackberry bush, surrounded with wooden pikes.
Somewhere at the left side of the river, there is the Blue flag placed on a little hill under a big oak with lots of ropes and traps in his branches.
2. EXT – THE STREAM - NIGHTFALL
CHIRON is standing in the middle of the stream, water swirling around his four horse legs. He holds a large bow and a quiver full of arrows hangs on his side.
A bit downstream are standing both the red and the blue teams, each one at one side of the stream: red right, blue left.
The Blue team is composed of the Athena cabin, with ANNABETH, MALCOM..., the Hermes cabin, with PERCY, LUKE, CHRIS..., and the Apollo cabin, with MICKAEL...
The RED team is composed pf the Ares cabin, CLARISSE and her three friends..., the Dionysus cabin, PULLOX and CASTOR, Dementer cabin, Hephaistos cabin, with BERCKENHOF..., and the Aphrodite cabin, SILENA and DREW... The kids of the Aphrodite cabin, except Silena, are admiring their reflection in the water.
CHIRON
Heroes! You know the rules...
PERCY (to Annabeth)
Sure this is a good idea? I mean...
Annabeth signs him to shut up.
PERCY
...using real weapons?
CHIRON
The river forms the frontier.
PERCY (continuing)
..could be dangerous, not?
CHIRON
The whole forest is the huntingfield. Magical objects are allowed.
PERCY
Magical? He's not serous is he? Hé, Annabeth!
She ignores him.
CHIRON
The flags are placed on a visible spot
and it isn't allowed to have more than two guardians.
PERCY
… And I never even fought with this...
He pulls his too big sword out, swishing accidentally around with it, almost hitting the kids around him.
They jump quickly away, avoiding the weapon, cursing on him.
PERCY
Whoops!
CHIRON
...Prisoners might be unarmed but not tied or trusts up.
PERCY
I never even fought with any weapon!
CHIRON
Killing..
PERCY
Killing?!
ANNABETH
Just ones shut up!
CHIRON
...or open injuring isn't allowed neither... Understand Clarisse?
He looks at Clarisse. She shrugs her schoulders.
I'm the arbiter and fightdoctor.
(shouting) The first team having captured the flag of the adversairy
and broud it to the other edge of the river, wins!
Heroes, go now!
Annabeth and Luke give orders to the blue team.
Percy just stands next to the river. He tries to say something, to join a group, but they ignore him.
The blue team splits up in three groups, each of them leaving in a other direction.
Annabeth stays. She kneels down and draws a strategy diagram in the sand: starting to plan the different actions.
Percy watches her a short time. Then he finally taps her on the shoulder.
PERCY
And what am I supposed to do?
She looks up at him, thoughtfully, and suddenly a big smile cross her face.
ANNABETH
You're the frontier guardian!
Percy looks at her hesitating
You just don't let any red pass the river. Easy! I'm doing the rest.
She pulls her cap out of her pocket
Athena always have a plan!
PERCY
(mumbling)
Yeah.. don't let any red pass the river...
(to Annabeth) You wouldn't have any magical object to lend by the way?
She looks at her cap, surprised. Then she looks up at Percy
ANNABETH
Oh, just shut up!
She puts her cap on, and becomes invisible.
Percy looks at the "Place-Annabeth-Should-Be" really surprised.
There is a sound of SPLASHING water in the river.
And then everything is SILENT
PERCY (sarcastic)
Oh great. You just all let me alone! Fantastic!
He drops his sword on the ground and sits down next to the river.
Frontier Guardian... Whatever...
3. EXT – THE RIVER – NIGHT
There are sounds of a fight in the forest far away.
Percy stille sits on the same spot.
He throws a boulder in the river, wanting to let it jumps on the water.
It sinks immediately.
PERCY
(grumbling)
Of course they don't let ME participate to the fight!
(he throws a second boulder) Nothing happens 'round here.
(another boulder) I damn already killed a Minotaur!
He throws a fourth boulder.
The boulder jumps on the water about five times, and ends up on the other edge.
Percy jumps up, staring at the river and then the boulder.
There are two eyes glowing red in the dark forest, at the other edge...
Percy does a step backwards and picks up his sword, looking straight at the eyes.
Something GROWLS...
And Clarisse and her friends come running out of the forest behing him, shouting. The point of her spear is electric, lighting coming of it.
CLARISSE
There he is! Rout him!
Percy turns around, but they are already on him.
He is surrounded by them and they start hacking in on him.
Trying to defend himself, he barely arrives to stop half of the gashes, and is touched several times on his armor.
Friend number 3 (FN3) hacks in his right arm, leaving a bloody but not dangerous injury.
PERCY
No injuries!
CLARISSE
Oh dear... now we won't have a dessert tonight... Poor us.
She throws her spear.
Percy is touched on his chest on his armor, and is electrocutated.
He yells.
He falls on the ground and ends on his back, dropping his sword.
Before he even has time to pick it up, Clarisse collars him and pulls him up.
PERCY
The flag is that way!
CLARISSE
We know... Pissy!
But you know, the flag doesn't matter us.
What matters us, is that you made us seem like idiots today! Pissy!
PERCY
You really didn't need me for that!
She kicks him in the face.
And then she throws him in the river.
Percy lands on his back and takes a ducking.
He puts up spluttering and yelling. But totally dry, even if nobody realizes it.
Clarisse throws his sword in the river too.
CLARISSE
Defend you if you can!
She steps into the river, followed by her friends.
Percy, afraid, bends immediately down to pick up his sword.
And than he stiffens: the injury on his arm is healing incredibly quickly. He stands without moving, staring at the injury and then it has disappeared...
He looks up just at time, FN1 gashes his sword down on him.
Suddenly he becomes a extremely good fighter:
FN1 stumbles out of the river.
Percy doesn't even look at him, turning to the others. They attack him all at the same time now. He disarms FN2 with one gash and hacks in on the chest of 3 falls down in the water, catching his breath. FN2 has a quick frighted look on Percy, then pulls his fallen friend on feet. They both run away.
Percy stands eye in eye with Clarisse, smiling.
She gives him an angry, murderously look. She attacks him. They start to battle. The fight is unfair. Percy pushes Clarisse slowly back out of the river and she has more and more trouble to stop his gashes. Then he hacks her spear in two.
CLARISSE
That was a gift of my dad! I'm going to kill you!
She has to jump out of the river to avoid a gash of his sword.
PERCY
Who is laughing now, Clar-piss?
He steps out of the river too, as if he was a real hero...
And loses all his strength, suddenly exhausted. He drops his sword.
PERCY
What the...
He looks up at Clarisse, out of breath.
She lifts an eyebrow, and than starts to laugh.
CLARISSE
What the Hades is wrong with you?
She positions her in fighting position, ready to beat him up.
Then she suddenly sees something behind Percy.
CLARISSE (cursing)
Di immortalès! (then she looks at Percy) Percy.. run!
PERCY
What...
They hear a deep GROWLING.
Percy turns around and stiffens
At the other edge a HELLHOUND is standing. It is a large, black mastiff, big as a grizzly bear, with long yellow teeth and claws bigger than daggers. His red eyes glowing, focused on Percy.
Clarisse pushes Percy aside, stepping between him and the hellhound. She rises her spear pointing it at the hellhound.
CLARISSE (shouting with a too high voice)
Hellhound!
Percy damn run! Hellhound in the forest!
At the same moment the Hellhound jumps.
In one move he crosses the river and passes over Clarisse. He pegs Percy down to the ground with one of his paws, his claws passing through the armor of Percy's chest as if it was only cardboard.
Clarisse friends come running out of the forest.
Percy yells of pain. He struggles in vain to free himself, tries to stand up... The Hellhound catches him with his muzzle in the shoulder and tries to pull him away from under his paw.
CLARISSE
Let him alone, damn beast! Ares, attack!
She picks up Percy's sword and jumps in direction of the hellhound, her friends approaches from the other side. At the same moment the Hellhound moves his paw away from Percy chest, and pulls Percy up. He rocks him around.
PERCY
Clariiiiiiiiiiiissseeeeeee!
One of his boots comes looses and hits FN2, knocking him out.
The others try to approach the Hellhound, but can't as it continues to rock Percy around him. Then the armor of Percy chest comes loose along with his shirt tearing up. The hellhound looses his grip on him, and Percy is thrown away.
He lands in the middle of the river, sinking immediately... The hellhound, with the rest of Percy's armor and shirt in his muzzle, moans unhappy...
4. EXT. – UNDERWATER - CONTINOUS
An unconscious Percy sinks until the bottom of the river.
There are trails of blood flowing out of injuries on his chest and shoulder.
He doesn't move at all...
5. EXT. – THE RIVER - CONTINOUS
The river colors red where Percy had fallen...
Clarisse stares at it.
She attacks the hellhound, furious. With all her strength she stabs the sword in his back. The Hellhound growls and turns around, snatching the sword out of her hands. He snaps at her. She jumps backwards. But she stumbles and falls on her back.
Her friends FN1 and FN3 runs towards her, but the beast growls against them. They jump quickly backwards, not willing to take the risk to approach...
The Hellhound turns to Clarisse again.
He walks towards her. She tries to fly away, but is stopped by a tree. Some of his sleeve drips on her feet. He growls again, showing a lot of long yellow sharp teeth...
Than suddenly cuts of a knife appears on his muzzle (Annabeth invisible). He shrinks back, howling of pain. He does an other step backwards, sniffs loudly, and is hit just in his hart by four arrows.
The hellhound howls again, falls on his side, and soaks down in the ground.
Chiron arrives galloping, his bow in his hand, a second arrow already placed on it. He is followed by a lot of campers (both blue and red) Luke arrives from the other side of the edge, with the red flag in his hands, followed by a little group of blue ones...
They all stiffen, looking at Clarisse lying on the ground. The air moves and Annabeth becomes visible, taking of her cap.
She exchanges a look with Chiron, before she turns to Clarisse and helps her on on her feet.
ANNABETH
What the Hades that beast does here?
CLARISSE
He attacked Percy directly! Jumping over me...
ANNABETH
Percy?! Where...
Clarisse nods in direction of the river.
Percy hadn't put up.
6. EXT. – UNDERWATER - A BIT LATER
Percy is still lying unconscious on the bottom of the river.
Annabeth is walking in the river...
CHIRON (o.s)
Annabeth, stop searching. He's death by now.
7. EXT. – THE RIVER - CONTINOUS
Annabeth is walking in river, searching desperately...
All the campers are staring at her, silent
ANNABETH
We have to find him. I have! If I hadn't let him alone...
8. EXT. – UNDERWATER - CONTINOUS
Percy's opens his eyes, still half knocked out. He sees Annabeth legs, next to him...
CHIRON (o.s)
Nobody can survive so long in the water, Annabeth... Nobody...
He catches the leg.
Annabeth yells.
9. EXT. – THE RIVER - CONTINOUS
Annabeth yells and jumps backwards.
Percy puts out of the water, totally dry.
A big "OH!" crosses trough all the campers.
PERCY
What the hell was that?!
(looking at Annabeth) You're right?
I don't know, you look kind off...
ANNABETH (cutting him off, yelling)
You pinched me! And how did you do that?
PERCY
Do what?
Annabeth points on his chest: except a few little injuries, he's completely healthy... and even those last injuries disappear while she's looking at it.
ANNABETH (struggling to find her words)
You were... underwater... for.. at least...
7 minutes! And... you were... gravely injured... You just healed...
(she touches his dry hair) Wait! Are you dry?!
Percy becomes more and more confused during her tirade. Annabeth looks at Chiron. He enters the river too, as surprised as she is. Chiron suddenly stiffens. There is a hologram of a green sparkling trident circling above Percys head.
All the campers gasp and they start to whisper, some of them pointing the trident above his head.
ANNABETH
Oh Styx. Did really isn't good...
Percy looks up curious of what could be above his head and sees the trident.
PERCY
What's that?
ANNABETH
Your father...
PERCY (alarmed)
A pitchfork? Is my a farmer? Dementer?
(he closes his mouth, thinking, before exclaiming) Wait: that's a women!
Annabeth knocks him on the shoulder.
PERCY
Hé!
ANNABETH
You idiot. It's a trident! Your father is...
CHIRON (finishing her sentence)
...Poseidon, the Earthshaker, the Stormbringer, and Father of the Horses!
He puts a hand on Percys shoulder.
Then he turns to the campers, lifting Percy's arm up.
CHIRON (shouting)
Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God!
Everybody kneels down, except Chiron. Clarisse and her friends kneel down too, although they aren't happy with it.
Even Annabeth bends down to kneel in the water. But Percy stops her.
PERCY
You'll be soaking wet if you do that!
He pulls her back on her feet, and she rolls her eyes.
ANNABERTH (sarcastic)
Just if I didn't know that, Seaweed Prince!
But he doesn't react on her comment. He is totally submerged by the fact that everybody is kneeling for him..
He signs to Annabeth to follow him and walks to the edge of the river.
ANNABETH (mumbling)
Son of Poseidon.. Quest... Just sucks..
They won't let HIM leave the camp now...
Chiron laughs behind them.
CHIRON
I wouldn't be that sure about that, dear Annabeth...
We kind of have a problem now.
Percy looks over his shoulder at Chiron, while stepping out of the river.
PERCY
What problemmm...
While speaking he staggers, does two more steps and than falls on the ground, unconscious, stopping halfway the word "problem"
ANNABETH
Percy!
Annabeth runs towards Percy and kneels down next to him, rolling him over.
The campers are watching in death silence.
But Luke chuckles, the red flag still in his hand.
END of the claiming scene
What will happen next?
Percy will be speaking about the whole lightning-thief thing with Grover and Chiron in the infirmary, lying in exactly the same bed, trying to put it all together...
Then he will be pushed into the room of the oracle and will get his prophecy. (not forgetting his commentary on that he was searching the toilets)...
And he will go down to the others and tell the prophecy to them, but not telling the last part. Annabeth will suddenly appear, and Chiron will tell the trio were the lighting would probably be: in the Underworld!
And Grover of course would complain why the lightning couldn't be in Maine.
Note of the writer
As this is the script of a scenario, instead of the book itself, I had to make some changes, and made the choice of making some others...
So now before you throws this script away because it is not as in the book, let me explain why I did it.
First of all the basic story-line of this scene.
In the book, Chiron explains the rules just after the dinner, and both the teams are announced, before they leave to the forest and Annabeth gives Percy the task to be Frontier Guardian. There Percy is attacked by Clarisse, menages to defeat her, Annabeth and Luke and the other blues arrive with the red flag... Annabeth sees that Percy had been healed by the water... and Percy is attacked by the hellhound which is instantly killed, then Annabeth says Percy to step in the water and he is claimed.
This doesn't happen like that in my script, why?
First of all it is technically a lot more faster and shorter to let the Game of Flags begin by the river, having showed where both flags are. The watchers do so directly know how all is set on. Second it is not so important what the rules are, as Percy in the end doesn't really participate to the "Capture the Flag" part: but now the watchers have enough information to imagine the rest.
Second, it stops the energy of the film, if between the fight with Clarisse and the Hellhound, there is a lot of speaking. The idea is just to have a really fast scene with a lot of action right here. Also, it gives the fight with the Hellhound the possibility to be far more impressive and funny (because fun = Percy Jackson book) if the others yet hasn't arrived, why otherwise wouldn't they directly react?
Second the powers of Percy
In the book, Percy is the narrator. So everything he thinks and feels is said. But you can't do that in a movie, that's holding out the action. So everything must be very explicit : you can't say that ones he steps out of the water he suddenly feels a lot weaker... You have to show it. And as you have to show it, the effect must be a lot bigger, or the watchers will miss it.
Also, it is a lot more dramatic if everybody thinks that Percy has drown, and so the effect of him being son of Poseidon is much bigger. It also explains that Percy can breath underwater, so you won't have to explain that in a later scene of the film (as when he falls of the Arch, or later speaks with a messenger of his father in the sea).
The thing with the boulder is also a first attempt to show his powers...
Percy's stupidity
In the first book Percy is a bit stupid, a real seaweedbrain. He doesn't understand most of the things, and always have to ad comments as narrator. Here you can't tell as narrator the comments: so Percy does it himself in the first part of the scene. Those comments are mostly his directs thoughts, so the watcher really is in his head.
On the other hand, Percy also is a strange combination of both being anxious and loving action, which is also shown here, as he perhaps give a lot of commentary in the first part on how dangerous this all is, and than being unhappy because he doesn't participate to the fight: a real little 12 years old boy too
On the part of the claiming of the book, I found it already really strange that Percy directly recognizes the trident immediately, so I wanted to change that, along with making a bit of fun of his sometimes really slow mind: therefore the commentary on Dementer.
Clarisse
Clarisse is one of my favorite characters, except in the first book because the character is really different of how she is later. Of course she is the daughter of Ares, so she is kind of aggressive and a boss, but she is not stupid at all. Why the hell would she say that Percy "called" the hellhound? She is not like that, she knows that it's not true and if she can profit from a unjust situation, or perhaps leave a little bit of information away, she will never lie! She just isn't like that, she's much to proud for that. She is the HERO (at least she thinks so), and a Hero doesn't do things like that.
But also, why didn't I let Percy defeat Clarisse? Just because it isn't the moment for that. He already did, so it's kind of a repetition. Let him have his victory later, in the Sea of Monsters, where he and Annabeth save her many times.
Because she is a hero and really brave, she will also try to protect Percy, doesn't care how much she hates him. That's how she is, and always will be. Just like she will feel as if she has failed when they think he has died.
Annabeth
With her invisibility cap, it it's also confusing if that's only showed when she becomes visible again, no watcher will understand. But if she becomes invisible while Percy is watching her, it's clear: "Magical object" is said, and yet she disappears.
In the fight against the hellhound I also find that she needs her part of honor, because she is just really brave, and she would do that if she can. And it's also a bit funny I think, as the Hellhound has no idea of who's attacking him.
Then she searches Percy desperately in the water. That also has a few reasons:
She has given him the order to be the FrontierGuardian and otherwise the hellhound wouldn't have attacked him (at least she thinks so).
But don't forget either that she hopes that he will be the hero who would take her on a quest, and that she already kind of likes him, even if she will never admit!
Luke
Luke isn't showed a much in this scene. Only in the beginning because he is one of the Blue team, and later with the Flag in his hand: he captured the flag.
But why is he smiling in the end? Now, I guess YOU all know, as fans of the book: everything is going as he has planned... and now it perhaps seems like he founds it funny, they will discover later that it's not the case, he just is happy his plan worked (OK he perhaps finds it funny too)
So that was it I guess, perhaps I forgot something, just say me.
Hope you liked it.
Merel la Sauterelle
PS: the dialogues could change, as I don't have the English version of the book yet, and can't use the dialogues of the books, even if I would want it at some moments. And of course, a real Engish person should check them up, but that's logical I think: I would need a dialogue writer (who happens to be used in almost every script of every movie, also to give each character his own speaking style). Because an own speaking style is, instead of in a book, really important in a movie.