Chapter 4: CTF, triple team.

Leon had never been so embarrassed in his life...at least his godly life, so far.

Before his very eyes, against every warning that he had given him, his own lieutenant, Jaydeen, had attempted the unthinkable. The one thing he should not have done at camp. The one thing that Leon's mother would "jackolope" him instantly for...

He had tried to flirt with one of the hunters...and it was costing him dearly.

Jaydeen had caught sight of Lisa, cleaning her bow on a bench near the cabins. He gave a whistle and turned to Erin, who was standing next to him.

"See that there beauty? I bet I could hit it with one of them hunters in no time."

Leon was forced to intervene before Jaydeen bit off more then he could chew. And then swallowed and choked on it.

"Whoa, there Jaydeen. I don't recommend doing what I think your thinking of doing."

Jaydeen turned to give Leon one of his "you bet" looks.

"Seriously, Jaydeen. They don't take very kindly to being flirted with...especially by boys."

Jaydeen gave a simulated burst of surprise.

"So if Trish were to flirt with them, they'd be fine with that then?"

"No, damn it! They are not exactly the romantic types Jaydeen. I wouldn't try to do that if you want to keep your limbs."

"Easy man, I got it covered."

He then licked his fingers and made a show of combing back his hair, while Erin chuckled and Leon put his hands over his eyes, not wanting to see the blood bath that would be following. He heard Jaydeen coming up behind Lisa and peeked outside his fingers to see Lisa grab his hand and twist him around, holding his arm behind his back. Despite the fact that his lieutenant was being attacked by a Hunter, though an attack he kind of earned, it was a truly hilarious sight.

That is, until Bethany got involved.

He heard her battle cry and turned to see her rush past him in a blur. She was unarmored, but was holding her sword, which Leon knew she could handle impressively, despite being a child of Aphrodite. He didn't think their combat skills were there with the Athena and Ares folks he'd had experience with...though he would never say that in front of Bethany.

But he was startled too much by Bethany's sudden war rush to stop her, only call out for them to break it up. But his voice was lost as Lisa threw Jaydeen away, him landing on his face with his arm behind his back. Then drawing her own blade, she met Bethany's attack. Bethany snarled like a wild beast that had her pups threatened, and then the two fought each other as if over wolves over a kill. Though Bethany was probably the only one fighting like that, over her percieved boyfriend. Leon was going to have to break something to her if Jaydeen did not. But first the only thing he should be breaking was breaking up this fight.

"Okay you two, that's enough!" He called.

But Bethany was so intent on defending her fallen "boyfriend". Jealousy was going to get that girl killed some day, and Leon would have his first immortal guardian to send to Hades.

"Okay you two, I said that is enough!"

But they kept fighting. If anything, they fought even harder.

"I said ENOUGH!"

To make sure he made himself understood this time, he sent a shock wave of power toward the two fighting girls. They stopped fighting as a wave of power cascaded over them, sending them both to the ground. Bethany's sword flew out of her hand, and Lisa's along with it. But even then, the two girls continued to brawl, fighting with claw and hair-pulling. They screeched and bit and clawed like two dogs with rabies.

Finally, Thalia noticed the two and was able to help Jaydeen pull the two broads apart, before any campers could gather to watch the next great girl-fight since the Hunter-Aphrodite child brawl of nearly two years ago.

When the two fighting girls were sent back to their respective cabins to await their scolding, Thalia breathed a huff and turned back toward Leon. Leon grinned in appreciation, trying not to notice that his now god eyes were seeing her as far more beautiful than ever.

"Well, that was a disaster that was better left not played out," he said.

"Your telling me? You should be glad that Lisa didn't kill your little Aphrodite guardian."

Leon cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, I think Lisa should be thanking me for trying to call off Bethany. That girl was about to tear your huntress to shreds there, little missy."

Thalia cocked her own eyebrow at the expression. Then she let out a low smile, almost predatory.

"We'll see, in a few hours then. I hope you enjoy watching your little guardians getting hammered by the might of the Hunters of Artemis...your momma!" She said, then turned and jogged off before Leon could reply.

"Oh we'll see Thalia, we'll see..."

-several hours later-

It was all set. The campers, guardians, and hunters were locked and loaded...at least armored and armed. They all hooted and hollered at the other teams, even the usually stoic hunters. War whoops and oaths filled the air, and Leon stood next to Chiron as the two reviewed the scene. Leon's only regret was that he was not able to participate, as, well...a god on a teams side would push their odds of winning just a bit too far.

"All right campers and other groups, here are the rules for this battle!" Chiron called, the crowd quieting.

"As there are three teams here, we have decided to have a special 'elmination' match. This entails that each team will get a flag. Blue for the Campers, red for the Hunters, and a silver one for the Guardians. Each team will place their flag in a position of their choice, though you might want some distance from the other teams, if you can help it. Each team must try to take the flag of the other teams. When a team's flag had been captured, then that team is eliminated from the game. To win, one team must capture all of the active opponents flags. That team will be the winner. All magic items are allowed. I will serve as battlefield medic and co-referee, along with Leonike. To your positions!"

The hooting redoubled in strength, though it quickly died out as the groups melted away to their respective positions. Leon was confidsent that Jaydeen had something up his sleeve for both the campers and hunters. He had always known that boy was mishevious, almost as if he were born of Hermes instead of Apollo.

Leon focused on the game, and to his surprise, being designated a referee alowed him to view the action as if he were watching it on television. He saw his guardians place the flag in a small clearing in the woods, and assigned both Erin and Trish to guard it. It was a good move, as the two children of the god of thieves would know what tricks might be pulled off to attain the flag. He saw Jaydeen also assign three more, Spencer, Bethany, and Jeremy to patrol the area immediately around it, essentially providing extra guards just in case. THen he took the other six and made a beeline for the hunter's territory.

Leon was pleased to see that they took a little birdies adive and painted their armor to look just like camouflage uniforms and some had even gone to the point of painting their faces to easier blend in with the woods around them. Leon remembered the tactic he had used against the hunters. The camo would be good use if they ever had to hide and allow a group of enemy troops to pass them by.

Jaydeen moved them in a coordinated manner, each leapfrogging past the other, then dropping to a knee and signaling for the other to pass. Leon nodded in approval for their tactics and felt he had taught them well. But all that would come into play once they met the Hunters. And they had a scouting party of their own.

Leon saw five hunters approaching his guardians in a tighter group than the guardians. Leon almost called a warning, but held his tongue, knowing that would violate the rules. But he was relived to notice Jaydeen had signaled for them to halt and then to take cover. They each dropped to the ground or hid behind something, the gear making them almost invisible to the hunters eyes.

The scouting group passed them by, heading for what seemed like the campers turf, and Leon could already hear combat from that sector of woods. When the hunters moved out of sight, the guardians resumed their expedition, making it look like the woods came alive when they resumed their trek.

Finally they came upon the flag. Jaydeen gave a signal to his other guardians, and five of them veered off to a little ways distance away. The hunters had left two guards there, each of them looking like ten-year olds. Leon heard the five who moved away making strange sounds and hooting noises, which caught the girls attention. THey glanced at each other and then slowly left the flag, entering the grove of trees where the party was hiding. Leon heard startled shrieks that were cut short, and the sound of rustling and struggling. But the group of guardians emerged from the grove victorious, and Leon suspected that the two hunters were knocked down then tied up.

Jaydeen grabbed the flag and then instead of trying to mask their return, the guardians made a mad dash back toward their own turf. They quickly ran into company however, as Thalia and Lisa were there with four other hunters. They saw their flag being taken, and Leon thought that Thalia's eyes would come right out of their sockets with surprised rage. She shrieked and the hunters rushed Jaydeen.

But the other six guardians ran in front and met their attack, each fighting a hunter in single combat. Jaydeen took the hint and bolted for all he was worth, desperate to reach the boundary between the two territories. And when he crossed it, the red flag of the hunters turned into a silver colored flag with a wolf's emblem upon it.

Jaydeen hooted and hollered, until he realized that none of the guards he left were there to greet him. He ran forward a little more, and realized just had occurred.

Each of them had been knocked out by an unseen force, most likely campers. Erin and Trish were on their backs, lost in dreamland. The other three were all spaced out a ways, all of them unconsciousness as well. And Jaydeen saw something very strange going on with their flag.

It was moving on it's own, dancing in the air toward the campers position...but what could that mean?

Leon was lost in thought for a moment, then the shock hit him. He had heard about it, but had never seen it. That damn Athenian girl, Annabeth, who had help bring him to Camp in the first place, was taking the flag under the invisibility hat.

Jaydeen also seemed to know what was happening. He gave chase immediately.

"Come back here, you Wise-ass!" He screamed.

Leon heard an unseen girl curse, and the flag seemed to be walking itself more quickly. Jaydeen was almost upon her when the flag crossed the boundary, turning into an owl emblem flag.

They lost...

Leon swore, but then lightened up. At least they proved they were more than a match for the hunters.

Cheers erupted from the Camper side as the horn that sounded the end of the game rang out. Annabeth became visible again, smirking at Jaydeen and the guardians who were just getting back. The hunters seemed outraged at the whole thing, but Jaydeen just signed and nodded in acknowledged defeat.

The group rallied at the edge of the woods and Annabeth was still getting hearty thanks from all the campers. Percy Jackson went so far as to give her a deep kiss right there, which she dropped the flag and returned, briefly forgetting what was going on all around them. But whent eh campers and even some guardians ooo-ed, they quickly broke apart, blushing. Leon went to debrief the guardians.

"Guys, you all did great out there. You too the hunters flag right from under them. Just be aware that they have an invisibility capable camper next time we face the campers."

They all nodded, their feelings eased somewhat by Leon's praise. Then he heard a throat being cleared behind him and turned to find Thalia standing behind him. He dismissed the campers, Bethany giving him a strange look before they left, as if she were deducing something.

"I see you have trained them very well," Thalia said.

"I guess you could say that."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to bring out our bigger guns next time we go at it."

Leon's eyebrow raised.

"Bigger guns?"

Thalia just smiled her incredible smile.

"You'll see...catch you later."

She turned to leave.

"Hey Thalia!" Leon called. Thalia turned to check. "You coming to the party tonight. The hunters are as welcome as everyone else."

Thalia considered it for a moment. Then she gave a sad smile.

"I would like to, but Artemis is kinds strict on those kinds of parties."

"Oh, come on. How is my momma gonna know?"

Thalia laughed.

"We'll see"

Next Chapter, the party's at Camp Half-Blood...but someone might not be so happy...Remember to Review!