Nico sat glumly at the foot of the giant Zeus' fist which held the red team's flag.

Around him there were a couple of kids from the Dionysus cabin and the Aphrodite cabin to give him company.

He still couldn't believe they dragged him into this silly game of capture the flag.

The day started out as usual.

Nico was back in his cabin after his three days stay at the infirmary. His cabin has been empty since Hazel left for Camp Jupiter. He was thinking about changing the bed. Blood red pillows and bed sheets? Really? He had an urge to smack the person who thought of this. Just when he heard a knock on his door.

It was Jason. He seemed to be in a hurry.

"Uh hey, Nico. Capture the flag. Tonight. After dinner. We get to pick the teams. Be ready!"

And he bolted off without giving Nico a chance to respond.

Nico did not know why the campers still bothered with childish games like this.

He headed to the dining pavilion around dinner time. He saw Jason waving his hand, asking him to come over. As far as Nico remembered the campers had to sit according to their godly parents but apparently that was all forgotten. He saw Ares kids mingling with the Aphrodite ones. On the other corner you could see the Demeter kids laughing with the kids from Hephaestus cabin. Nico went towards the bench where Jason was sitting with Piper. He waved at Piper and she smiled back.

"I thought you were heading back to Camp Jupiter along with Frank and Reyna." Nico asked, helping himself a slice of pizza.

"I am. A couple of days later. Got some work to finish here. Pipes' coming too." He said while filling his goblet with cherry coke. "I have got a lot work to be done at Camp Jupiter too. I have promised to erect a shrine for all the minor gods. And you wouldn't believe how many of them exist. The Hephaestus cabin has promised to help with the task. Leo would have been the most excited… " Jason trailed off.

Nico still couldn't get over the fact that Leo is gone. He wanted to believe, desperately, that he's still alive, that he had somehow escaped the explosion. And it would have been possible to believe it as well, except he did feel his soul pass on to the Underworld. Hazel had felt it too. Nico knew how close everyone was to Leo especially Jason and Piper. He suddenly felt his appetite vanish. He got up from his seat to offer food to Hades. He went up to the fire and put his slice of the pizza into the fire and saw it go up in flames. He prayed silently to Hades.

Hey, um, dad? I am back at Camp Half Blood. Everything's going smooth so far. The campers have been nice to me. Chances are you might have scared them into being nice to me but either way… He thought to himself. Please accept my offering. He found it weird talking to his dad.

He came back to find almost the entire camp surrounding Jason and Piper. They were discussing the strategies for the game tonight. Percy, Annabeth, Clarisse, the Stoll brothers were all sitting on the bench with them. He was looking for another familiar face when Jason spoke.

"So, we have the two teams decided. Zeus/Jupiter, Athena, Hades, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysus and Hypnos will fight for the red team and Poseidon, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, Iris, Demeter and Hecate will be defending their blue flag, all right?" Jason said.

Everyone agreed in unison when Percy spoke.

"Well, well, look who made all the decisions without consulting anyone? Just because you-" he jabbed a finger accusingly in Jason's direction "-happen to be the child of Jupiter you think you get to throw your weight around? You think we will all willingly abide to your rules and dictatorship"

Dictatorship? Nico thought. Really, Percy?

Everyone stared at the two demigods. Tension brewed between the children of the Big Two.

"I, uh well, did not-"

"Ha, no I was just kidding!" Percy started laughing. And the air around the camp automatically got un-electrified. Campers relaxed and got back to discussing team strategies.

"That was a lame one, seaweed brain." Annabeth smacked his arm lightly.

"Oh come on, wise girl. For the first time in the camp we have the kids of all the Big Three. It is essential to create mock-tension to give our fathers a run for their money. You know, after all they are usually the ones fighting amongst themselves." Percy grinned.

Nico ignored them and tried to melt away into his shadows when he remembered Solace's warning.

"No more underworld-y activities for the whole week, death boy."

It is weird how a moniker that usually irritates him so much but when used by Solace becomes almost… endearing?

Nico shook his head as if trying to get the thought out of his mind. Just as he was struggling to keep Solace out of his head, someone with a mop of yellow hair appeared by his side.

"Hey, death boy."

Of course.

"Have they picked teams yet for capture the flag yet?" Will asked trying to catch his breath. Apparently he was running.

"Uh, yeah," Nico said. "You're in the team blue. Along with Percy and a bunch of kids from the Ares, Hermes and Demeter cabins."

"Oh, all right. What team are you on?"

"Red, with Jason and the others."

"Ah, this is going to be fun." Will said wickedly. "Get ready to get your podex kicked, di Angelo. With Percy, the Ares and the Hermes cabin, there is no way in Hades are we going to lose this game."

The son of Hades laughed mirthlessly.

"Sure, go ahead. Give it to a shot, Solace. By the end of the game we will come to know!"

"Oh yeah, really?" Will challenged. "How about a bet?"

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" Nico's eyes danced with flames.

"Simple. The loser has to obey whatever the winner asks him to do. May it be cleaning the horse stables for the entire month or washing the vessels for an entire week with lava or jumping into the cold water in the middle of the winter."

Although, the jumping into cold water and freezing to death bothered Nico but he did not back down.

"Deal!" he shook hands with Will.

"May the best camper win." Will said with a grin.

"All right teams," Chiron called out "We're going to begin with the game. We all know the basic rules. The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—" there was a huge cheer from Percy's side "—shall take the west woods. Jason—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Blue team!" Percy shouted, "Come on, let's go!"

Will punched Nico playfully, "See you later, death boy!" and followed his team.

Nico went over towards Jason's side where he was leading the team to the west side of the woods.

"All right, team. We have set our red flag on top of Zeus' fist." He told his team-mates.

"Nico," Jason looked at him, "I'm putting you in charge of defense along with Pollux, Earl and Lacy. Three people should suffice given that the Zeus's fist is usually not easily mountable. And when you have the son of Hades with you, there's nothing to worry about." he winked at Nico.

The son of Hades scowled at him in return.

"And in the offense, Annabeth, Pipes and Carl will be with me. We will get into the enemy's territory and get the flag. Meanwhile, Malcolm, Jake, Nyssa, Zac-" he pointed at the kids from Athena and Hephaestus cabin, "you will be on the offense. Strike down any camper from the other team as soon as they enter our territory, okay?"

Everybody cheered in agreement.

"Come on, let's get going! Go TEAM RED!"

And off they went all noise and enthusiasm into the woods.

A/N: Not happy with the chapter. I read The Titan's curse in order to include Capture the flag but it did not help me much. Might keep updating it. Anyhoo, reviews! It really gets me going. I will know what stuff to work on and what I am doing right.
Also, I'm posting this chapter in advance because I won't be able to post anything for the next two weeks. Got my finals going on and really stressed out. But stay tuned because as promised next chapter will be Nico/Percy.
PS: If you guys find any mistakes, as in grammatical or facts that are incorrect, let me know! Toodles.