At last, it was time for Capture the Flag. The plates were cleared and a conch horn sounded, signalling for everyone to stand. Campers yelled and cheered as Will, Chloe and one of their siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a ten-foot silk banner, glistening gold, with a painting of the sun above a bow with a arrow and a lyre in front of a laurel tree.

On the opposite side of the pavilion, Alex and two of her siblings ran with another banner, of identical size, but blood red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

"Does are the flags we have to get, aren't they?" Sera leaned over to Harry who looked as confused as she was.

"Probably. We have to get yours for us to win," he kept staring at the Apollo cabin's flag which was shining an almost blinding light even with the dark surrounding the pavilion.

"I'd prefer Quidditch over this any day," said Sera, missing her broom. She made a mental note to go out for a fly once the game was finished.

The guy in the wheelchair was no longer in a wheelchair but was now a centaur, standing proudly in the front. He hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced, "You know the rules."

A few campers said them along with him.

"The creek is the boundary line. The Woods, playing field for Capture the Flag. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banners must be prominently displayed and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

Everyone started to get into their gear. Harry and Sera got into the armor Chloe and Alex gave them. Sera's helmet had a blue horsehair plume on top while Harry's was red.

As everyone got to the forest, Will placed the flag near the geysers then he started climbing one of the trees. Chloe ran to a tree at the side of the creek and Sera started to hide, Giselle, waiting beside her.

Sera felt exhausted, her wand was getting heavier by the second but she chose to ignore the feeling and tried to stay alert. Far away, the conch horn blew and the clanking of metal, screams and a few arrows being launched reached Sera's ear. A blue-plumed ally from Hermes that Sera noticed was one of the Stoll brothers, leaped into enemy territory without getting seen by the opposing team.

Chloe shot an arrow and a loud screech could be heard. Most of the campers ran away from the sound, covering their ears. Sera looked up and saw Chloe aiming another arrow, this time, at Nico who was trying to blend in with the shadows. The shot fired and barely missing Nico's arm.

"Now Sera!" she yelled from the tree, aiming at another enemy.

"Stupefy!" yelled Sera and Nico was knocked back. Giselle and a few of her siblings ran over and dragged the poor boy to their improvised jail near a structure called Bunker 9.

About an hour has passed and no one has even gotten close to the other flag.

"Chloe!" Annabeth yelled as she was fighting a boy Sera recognized as Leo.

Chloe grabbed an arrow and shot an arrow in between them, surprising Leo and giving the opportunity for Annabeth to strike. Leo was brought to the jail by Giselle and her sibling.

Chloe started jumping from branch to branch and motioned Sera to follow her. Keeping out of sight, Sera followed the daughter of Apollo to Zeus's fist and found her jumping down from one of the trees.

Chloe slung her bow over her shoulders and started climbing the structure to get the red flag above.

"Rictusempra!" Someone yelled and Chloe started laughing non-stop. She slid down the structure and laughed, doubling over and falling to her knees.

"SUFFER, CHLOE, SUFFER!" Alex jumped down from one of the trees and walked in front of her laughing friend.

"Stop... It... Help... Me!" she managed to say in between laughs.

"Get their flag! We've got this game in the bag," Alex smirked at Harry, the one who cast the spell. Alex turned to her best friend, a throwing knife in her hand.

"Alex... No... Killing! HAHA!" Chloe's arms went to shield her face. She turned around to talk to the older boy.

Sera, who was still unseen, brought out her wand and muttered, "Finite," the general counter curse.

Chloe started calming down and smirked at her best friend. She drew her bow and a loud screech rang through out the forest making enemies clutch their ears.

Chloe started climbing up the structure again, turning back ever so often, to check if Alex and her other teammates were still stunned by the sound. She grabbed the flag and climbed back down then ran to Sera.

"Thanks. Didn't know what I'd do without you considering I'm best friends with one of the most sadistic on Earth," Chloe chuckled.

"Does it seem a bit quiet to you?" Asked Sera, noticing the only sound there was were the clanking of metals against each other.

"The Sonic Arrow... Run!" yelled Chloe, running towards their side of the forest but she was being slowed down by the weight of the banner.

"Stop right there!" yelled Sherman Yang, another child of Ares. Chloe stopped in her tracks and brought out her wand.

Then, behind them, a few Ares campers, Jason Grace (Sera bumped into him while at the combat arena), Pollux (Alex introduced him as the guy who never wakes up) and Hazel.

"Put down the flag and we won't hurt you," said Sherman, pointing his spear at Chloe's chest.

"What now?" asked Sera, holding out her wand.

"Listen, we don't want to hurt any of you. Put down your weapons and let us through," begged Sera.

"Do you really think that would-" Chloe was cut off when the demigods around them started putting down their weapons.

"Come on," Sera said, pulling Chloe, who was stunned with shock, towards their side of the creek. As Chloe step foot on their side, the red banner shimmered and was turned gold, exactly like their banner which was still near the geysers, untouched.

All of a sudden, the entire team had Chloe and Sera on their shoulders, Chloe holding up the golden banner as high as she could. Cheers erupted from the team. Sera turned and saw a sulking Alex, staring at her best friend.

They were let down and something weird started to happen to Sera.

A reddish glow appeared around her. She looked down and saw what she was wearing. She was wearing a beautiful white sleeveless dress that went down to her ankles, with a very low V-neck. Golden armbands circled her biceps. A gold belt hung on her hips. A long red cloth slung over her shoulder and tucked into the belt. Knee-high gladiator sandals wrapped her legs. Her hair was lush and long, a few golden strands to be found here and there. She had make-up on, she never wore any except during the Yule Ball in fourth year. Then, as if for the finishing touch, a golden laurel wreath sat on top of her head. She turned...

"Beautiful," Harry exclaimed. "Sera, you... you're gorgeous."

If this had happened on another occasion, getting that compliment from Harry would have been Sera's happiest moment in her entire life. She would be able to produce a patronus capable to drive away any dementor. But now everyone was staring at her like she had become a freak.

Chiron galloped to the middle of the crowd then, folded his front legs and bowed to her, all the campers followed his example including Harry.

"Hail Seraphina Hirai," Chiron announced. "Daughter of Venus, lady of the doves, Roman goddess of love."