Chapter 2: Camp, Claimed, Capture the Flag
~Camp Half-Blood~
3rd Person POV
The three unofficial leaders of Camp Half-Blood led the trio of brothers and sibling Hades' kids around the camp and showed them all that was there. The strawberry fields, the lava wall (Garrett loved it and wanted to try it as soon as possible), the stables (Mitchell had a few conversations and choice words with the pegasi there), the dining pavilion, the arena (all three brothers were excited), and finally showers and bathrooms with the cabins.
"And this is Cabin Eleven, Hermes Cabin, where you three will be staying since you're a son of Hades and unclaimed," Annabeth said and Darren and Garrett scowled. "Because Hermes is the God of Travellers, so he welcomes all. Nothing against your parents," Percy added to try and salvage the situation and the two nodded.
"Capture the Flag is tonight against the Hunt after dinner which is at 6:30," Thalia added to the group but turned to Bianca and Nico. "You can't participate just yet because you just joined the Hunt and neither of you really have training yet," she said and they nodded.
"You three however, will make a great addition I believe," Percy said with a genuine smile that was mirrored by Mitchell. "Yo, Prissy! Those newbies?" a burly girl yelled as she sauntered up. "Ya, Clarisse," Percy grumbled in reply at the nickname. "You know they need their initiation, right?" Clarisse said and cracked her knuckles.
Before Percy could say anything, Darren had his scythe at her neck. "We're here to help you with the game tonight. If you so wish to fight us afterward, be my guest. You can even pick which one of us you fight," he whispered and the other two brothers smirked as she gulped. "Y-Yeah. Sure," she grumbled and left.
Dinner rolled around and they sat at the ever crowded Hermes table with their food, waiting for their chance to sacrifice food. Darren went up first of the brothers. "To Aunt Hestia and Hades. Father, claim me and the Di Angelo's after Capture the Flag. We have nothing to hide from here and I'll protect them," he whispered. Mitchell went next. "To Auntie Hestia and Poseidon. Father, claim me after Capture the Flag. I'm excited to fight alongside another son of Poseidon," he whispered.
Garrett's turn was slightly less polite. "For the greatest Auntie to exist, ever. Also, you lazy sky bastard. Get your sparkler out of your ass and keep an eye on the Capture the Flag game tonight. I may not like you, but I want you to be proud of me still. My brothers and I will certainly put on a show," he whispered with a devilish grin.
Dinner went smoothly and time for the game was upon the demigods. "Alright, Hallers. I want you three to-" Annabeth began, but Garrett cut her off. "You want to use us as bait since we got off on the wrong foot with the hunters," he said and Annabeth scowled because he was correct while the rest of the campers stared at the 10-year-old wide-eyed.
"My brothers and I have been training together for a long time. We're always a team of three and we'll manage ourselves," Mitchell added. "I'm the stealth, Mitchell's the tactic, and Garrett's the cover. Don't worry about us," Darren finished and drew his scythe. Mitchell twisted his ring and tapped his watch to summon his sword and shield. He also got outfitted with some traditional armor, but the other two brothers passed.
"Mitchell's also the bait. Look at that handsome dumb face," Garrett said with a wide smile, making Mitchell scowl and the girls to blush. "You're not going to listen no matter what, are you?" Percy asked and Garrett just beamed again. Thalia and Annabeth sighed deeply. "Alright, the rest of you. Stick to the plan," Annabeth said and everyone got into position.
The horn sounded and the trio of brothers took off. Darren led but stuck to the shadows to scout for the others. Mitchell took his charge in the open, knowing Darren was his eyes and ears and Garrett was his overwatch. "Four hunters in the trees," Darren whispered to the shadows and moved to flank them. Said hunters loosed arrows at Mitchell, who held his shield up and blocked two arrows, while the other two were shot out of the air by Garrett who was perched in a tree 100 meters behind him.
The hunters were shocked that their arrows were blocked and shot, but Darren materialized in the shadows behind two of them and knocked them out with the butt of his scythe before melting back into the shadows. Mitchell was approached by some ground troops and engaged in a 3v1 battle in the clearing while Garrett was sniping the other two in the trees.
Garrett loosed an arrow and it split one of the hunters and kept sailing to its target. It pierced her shoulder and Garrett charged it with lightning to shock her unconscious. Garrett moved his location after every shot, like a master sniper does, so the hunter couldn't get any lead on him. She joined the ground assault with her sisters, making it a 3v1 again.
Garrett put away his bow and ran toward the group as he bumped his fists together and formed his gauntlets. As he was approaching his brother he yelled, "Mitch! A lift?" Mitchell smirked and ran toward his brother; shield out. Garrett leapt and Mitchell flung him off of his shield and Garrett used the winds to sail right into one of the hunters and drove his fist into her nose, knocking her out.
The other two were shocked at the teamwork and also the brutality of the punch, and that led to their downfall. Mitchell charged one while they were dazed and bashed his shield aside her head, making her crumple. Garrett moved swiftly from the hunter he downed and swept the legs out from underneath the last.
Mitchell put his sword to her throat and said, "Dead." The hunter grumbled and walked out of the clearing to exit the game. "Nice shield bashing," Garrett said and Mitchell smiled and shrugged his shoulders before they ran after Darren.
While the younger two were handling the first group, Darren had ventured to the next clearing where the hunters were. Unfortunately for him, there were six of them waiting. Unfortunately for the hunters, they were facing Darren. While all of the brothers were dangerous, Darren had been training with his weapon the longest.
His scythe became a blur as he spun it around him continuously. He blocked knife strikes and cut down any arrows that sailed toward him and disappeared into a shadow. He was having too much fun that he started to laugh maniacally and grinned widely. It was an unsettling sight, but there was genuinely no malice in it. He appeared below one of the hunters and grabbed her ankles and dragged her into the shadows before the others could react. He quickly knocked her out and deposited her at the feet of another hunter, spooking them all.
He then appeared behind another and knocked her out as well, making it 4v1. He went back to blocking and dodging. 'They should be here any second now,' he thought and on cue, his brothers came into the clearing.
"Garrett make sure you're using blunted arrows. Lady Hestia isn't going to be happy with you after you pierced the other's shoulder," Darren called as he blocked a strike and Garrett shot another arrow out of the air. "That's no fun," Garrett pouted and Mitchell rushed in to aid Darren. The trio made quick work of the remainders and Darren grabbed the flag.
They sprinted back to their side and encountered no hunters and few campers along the way until they came to the clearing with the creek that served at the boundary line. Across the creek 10 meters apart was Zoe and two other hunters with the campers flag and the trio of brothers with the hunters flag. All they needed to do was cross the creek before the other did and the game would be over. Campers and hunters alike gathered around to watch the stand-off.
"Well. Looks like we got ourselves a good ol' Mexican Standoff," Garrett chirped in excitement. The hunters growled at him and his brothers rolled their eyes. "How about a showdown. Each of us goes 1v1. Winner gets the other's flag," Mitchell said and the girls looked at each other before nodding. Both sides swore on the Styx and Darren spoke up. "You may pick your opponent," he said and Zoe was the one to immediately reply.
"I want him," she said and pointed at the 10-year-old. The campers protested that he was just a kid, but Garrett giggled excitedly. "Yay! I get to fight the Princess," he squealed and unnerved a lot of those present. The other two picked the respective remaining brothers and Darren fought first.
Darren was the type of fighter to get in and get out. Get the job done quickly and move on. With that said, as soon as his match started, he shadow traveled to the spot behind the hunter and swept her legs out from underneath her, shadow traveled to another spot and cracked the butt of his scythe to her rips, and finally appeared over her with his scythe at her throat.
"Dead," he said and she conceded, shocking the campers and hunters.
Mitchell was a traditional fighter and cared about honor and all that with every fight he was in. Not to say that the other two didn't, but they knew there was a time and a place for it. Either way, Mitchell's swordsmanship was pretty damn good and with his shield he was a tough opponent to beat.
The hunter against him found that out in the first five minutes of the bout, and began to lose ground after that. 'Guess it's time to let the secret out,' Mitchell thought as he kicked the hunter off of him. He then willed the water from the creek to restrain the hunter. Everyone was gaping and whipped to look at Percy, but he was gaping as well.
Mitchell held his sword to her throat. "Dead," he said and released her while a sea-green trident appeared over his head. He turned to Percy and gave him a small, but shy wave and everyone quickly knelt to him. Well, everyone but Garrett and Darren; they just gave him a soft round of applause.
"Are you ready, boy?" Zoe spat to Garrett and he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. "Archery or close range?" he asked and that's when the campers and hunters that knew of him had no idea what kind of fighter he was.
"What kind of fighter is he?" Thalia whispered to Darren and she smiled softly. "He's a pain in the ass. A complete hooligan. More of a brawler than a fighter," he said and Thalia tilted her head in confusion for Darren to just point at the scene.
"It matters not, male" Zoe hissed and drew her bow, but Garrett anticipated that and threw one of his knives before she could get a shot off. It was sped up with wind and sailed directly through the bowstring, separating it. Zoe along with the spectators went wide-eyed.
"Close range it is," the boy said cheekily and bumped his fists together twice. Slowly, the multi-metal gauntlets crawled over his hands and halfway up his forearms. The knuckles varied between what he wanted them to be; since this was a friendly match, they were lightly studded. If it were a life and death battle, they would be spiked.
The campers and hunters looked at the boy in disbelief that this was his weapon of choice. Zoe looked incredulously at him. "Seriously?" she asked and Garrett just grinned. Zoe then growled and drew her knives before charging the boy.
Garrett met her charge head on and blocked her knives with the outside of his covered forearm. They danced around one another, Garrett somehow matching the hunters supreme speed (though he was using the winds) as he landed heavy punches against her blades that reverberated through her bones.
The back and forth action was entertaining. Far more so than the other two fights and about 20 minutes in, Zoe finally got a cut in on the boys cheek. The boy growled and Zoe smirked, but that was short lived. Garrett feinted a jab to her gut, which prompted her to leap back, but he quickly threw a kick and swept her feet from underneath her.
She went sprawling onto her back and brought her knives in an "X" position to block the punch she was expecting, but instead the boy grabbed the knives and threw them well away from the hunter. He cocked his fist back, ready to deliver the final blow. "Yield, girl."
Zoe growled and hissed low enough that only he would hear it. "Just like Heracles," and the boy's scowl vanished and his expression turned completely emotionless. He punched the ground inches from her head and created a small crater. Zoe gulped, but held strong.
"Yield," Garrett said colder than last time. "No," Zoe growled back. Garrett stepped back and his brothers forced the campers and hunters back a little bit, much to their confusion. Dark clouds began to form and rumble above the scene, as black as night and blocking out all of the stars and moon.
Lightning flashed across the sky and the wind picked up and everyone watched in awe. Suddenly, lightning struck the 10-year-old in a brilliant flash and deafening boom and the electricity surrounded him. The energy flowing off of his body made his hair stand up on end and crackle with electricity.
He held out his right and the lightning energy that surrounded him began to gather into his hand and form his own miniature Master Bolt, though nowhere near as powerful. Still everyone was staring at the boy in complete wonder and a few in terror. Thalia was looking on with slight jealousy.
Garrett stepped up to Zoe again and her eyes were wide with fear. She looked into his eyes and could hardly make out the electric blue. They were replaced with glowing yellow and crackling with the energy he had just summoned from the lightning strike. He lifted his arm and pointed the bolt at Zoe and said, "Dead."
As quickly as it came, he threw the bolt back into the sky and it exploded into hundreds of tendrils of electricity that chased each other across the sky and were accompanied by another deafening boom. The energy died down and Darren and Mitchell were at their brother's side to catch him when he faltered. "Show off," Mitchell said and Garrett gave a weak smile.
He turned to Zoe one last time. "Don't ever compare me to that pompous ass that begged people for help to obtain his power. I may lust for power like he does, but I will obtain it on my own or I won't obtain it at all," he said and turned his back on her to hear another gasp. The lightning bolt emblem appeared over his head and Garrett chuckled dryly with his brothers at his sides.
He raised his head to the sky. "About damn time you useless bastard! Hope you enjoyed the show," Garrett yelled, making the campers flinch again waiting for him to be struck down, but nothing happened.
The mummy of the Oracle then came into the woods on her own and the campers weren't sure that they could take any more surprises at this point. "Approach seeker and ask," the mummy hissed at Zoe, who was still trying to get over her surprise from the youngest Haller.
"Where is Milady?" she asked and the green smoke grew in size.
"Seven shall go West to rescue the Goddess in chains,
A trio of the Trio, their siblings, and a hunter at the reins,
The Bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined shall prevail,
The Titan's Curse one shall withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand"
"Well that was sufficiently creepy," Garrett commented weakly.
The leaders plus the brothers were gathered in the Big House later to discuss the prophecy.
"The first line is how many are going and who were rescuing; it had to be Milady," Zoe commented and everyone nodded.
"'A trio of the Trio' is my brothers and I," Darren started and Garrett finished it. "The entire second line was who's going. It's us three plus our half-siblings and the Princess over there. Thalia, Percy, and Bianca."
"What's the 'Bane of Olympus'?" Thalia asked and everyone looked around. "Probably the monster Artemis was hunting," Zoe commented and they all nodded.
"Welp, we can worry about the rest later. I'm off to bed. I'll see you lovely questers in the morning," Garrett said and promptly headed to Zeus Cabin.
This was going to be an interesting next few days… maybe a week. Who knows?