Alright, time for a game of capture the flag. Thank you all for not minding too much about me altering what went on in the novel. I just hope it can stay that way.

Capture The Flag

Percy's POV

Well, today is the big event. It's Hunters of Artemis vs Camp Half Blood. I wish I could say that I was prepared for this. But I've never really faced a hunter, and the fact that from what I've heard, they win every single time doesn't exactly help either. Though I guess I can see a little why as to why they always win. There are a lot of trees and woods around camp, and the hunters live for that. The hunters live for the wild. The wild is their home, so they have a home to live through here. And that gives them a complete advantage over us. Honestly, I don't think even my training with Ares will be able to help me on this one. True, it helped with those Stymphalian Birds and the hunters had trouble with them, but for this, I'm not fighting to kill anything. Which means I need to make sure I don't go too far.

"Ready Percy?" Grover asked coming up to me and Clarisse.

"I guess." I answered.

"Alright man, show everyone here what you're made of." Grover said patting my shoulder.

As he walked away, I sighed and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just nervous that even with your father's training, I won't be able to make a difference for our team." I answered.

"At least you'll be the best on the team. I only wish I could help you." Clarisse said.

Yes, Clarisse still can't participate in any camp activities due to her pregnancy. From what I've overheard from Grover, the hunters have been getting all curious about this and are already getting judgmental about it. Well, at least Clarisse will have some company. Bianca and Nico aren't participating either. But for the two of them, it's because Chiron thinks they're a little too young. It worked perfectly well for the two of them.

"Me too." I responded.

"You know; I'm really looking forward to spending the rest of my life raising our child with you. I'm really excited to raise this baby. So whatever you do, don't get killed out there." Clarisse said straightening my outfit out.

"I am too." I said bringing Clarisse in for a hug.

From the corner of my eye, I could see a few hunters looking at us, or at least me, in disgust. You can easily tell that they're judging the worst for me. But I just ignored it. I already had a lot on my mind right now. I didn't need anything else to worry about. Clarisse and I then moved enough for us to share a quick kiss. Well, it was supposed to be quick, but Clarisse wrapped her arms around my neck, which made it longer.

"Percy, let's go. We're waiting for you." Thalia said coming up.

Clarisse and I broke the kiss and shared an irritated sigh that Thalia just ruined the moment we were trying to share with each other.

"Wish me luck?" I asked Clarisse.

"You'll need it." Clarisse answered.

"Ain't that the truth." I stated and quickly kissed her one last time and followed Thalia to our flag.

I felt pretty bad for leaving Clarisse alone. Just like every other time, I didn't really like leaving her alone. I didn't really like it because a lot of people were still pretty iffy about her being pregnant. But on the bright side this time, at least she'll have some company. The Di Angelos have been head over heels the very second I told them about Clarisse carrying my child. Like Clarisse, they're not playing, so I'm sure they'll make her feel easy and comfortable.

"Alright everyone." Thalia started as she and I met up with everyone else.

"You all know the drill, defend our flag, try to capture the hunters' flag, and don't let the hunters anywhere near our flag." Thalia said.

"Right." Everyone responded.

"Percy, do you have anything to contribute?" Thalia asked, turning all attention to me.

"Don't get killed." I simply said.

"Alright then. Ares, Athena, Dionysus, and Demeter cabin are with me on the offense. Aphrodite, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Hermes cabin are with Percy on the defense. All other cabins, take whatever position you feel best at and don't screw up. Let's go." Thalia said.

And with that, we took our places and got ready. Personally, I felt like I should be leading the offense. Thalia may be a daughter of Zeus, but I personally thank that after my experience with the Stymphalian Birds, it's pretty clear that I'm just as good of a warrior as Thalia. But despite that, I really have no intention to get in another fight with her. I wasn't really in any mood to have another cousin to cousin quarrel. I just wanted to get this over with so I can get back to Clarisse.

And with the sound of the horn, the game started. Thalia took her team out on the front lines and my team stayed and stood guard of the flag. I have to say, while it may not make sense to some of you, Thalia's strategy is actually pretty legit. It's kinda like the final level of Warcraft 3 The Frozen Throne, it's a really hard level because you've got three armies to fight all on your own. One lead by Lady Vashj, one lead by Prince Kael, and the strongest one lead by Illidan. All three armies fighting for one purpose, kill you, activate all four obelisks before you do, get to the Lich King/Ner'zhul before you do, and destroy him. It's a pretty hard level. The best way to win that level is having a defensive team and an offensive team. Or if you want to be a dick about being pretty desperate to win the level, you can just cheat. You can use the WhosYourDaddy cheat, which makes all your forces invincible and grants them the ability to automatically kill all enemy units in one attack. I did it once, and that was it. I was playing that level for like three or four hours and it was just taking too damn long for me. So I just cheated to just get the game over with.

Anyways, yeah, this is a pretty good idea. I just hope the forces Thalia chose for the defense and those for the offense were the right choices.

"Hey Percy?" Silena asked coming up next to me.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"Is it okay that I ask you something?" Silena asked.

"That depends, does it have anything to do with having sex for money?" I asked.

"No." Silena answered looking confused.

"Just checking, because a lot of your brothers have been asking that to a lot of girls lately. Alright then, what's your question?" I responded.

"How do you feel about Clarisse?" Silena asked.

"Um, what do you mean exactly?" I asked.

"I mean, what are your feelings for her?" Silena asked.

"Well, she and I are now dating. She's pregnant with my child. We've gotten past all of our grudges and are finally on great terms. She's an amazing woman, without a doubt the strongest here in camp. She's basically one of the most interesting women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Why do you ask?" I answered.

"Percy, do you love her?" Silena asked.

"What?" I asked godsmacked by that question.

"I want to know if you love her?" Silena stated.

"Um, well, we really haven't been a couple for that long. With how far we've gotten, I know for a fact that I really like her a lot, but I'm not entirely sure if I can really say that I love her." I answered.

"Well, as your friend and as Clarisse's friend and a daughter of Aphrodite, make sure you tell her that you do the very second you know you do." Silena said.

"I will." I responded.

At that, a war cry was heard in the distance. Thalia and her team have engaged battle with the hunters. With how many trees there were, I couldn't really say I saw what was going on for sure, but it seems like Thalia's team was having a little trouble with the hunters. I couldn't tell if the hunters were using the same strategy as us, but I wouldn't really be surprised if they were. But then again, with how good the forest is to them, I guess they don't really need much of a strategy. They just need to improvise and do whatever feels natural to them. I just Hope Thalia can hold them back.

Looking around, I saw that they actually had no one guarding their flag. If no one is personally guarding it, then that means they're protecting it in the distance. They're relying on their archery skills to defend their flag. I saw this as an opening. It was a pretty long shot, but I've been trained by Ares himself. I'm the only one with the best chance of being able to get the flag without being too badly damaged. My fight with those Stymphalian Birds has proven that to myself. It's also proved that to Thalia, Annabeth, Grover, the hunters and even two Olympians, Apollo and Artemis. If I actually had a chance against those Stymphalian Birds, then I have a chance here as well. I had a strong feeling that it wouldn't work really, that leaving for the flag wasn't going to work, and that leaving my team wasn't a good idea, but the least I can do is try.

"Silena, Charles." I called.

"Yeah?" Silena and Charles responded.

"Keep the flag safe. I'm going in." I said.

"But Percy, Thalia said to stay here and guard the flag." Silena said.

"Thalia has no control over me. Plus, just standing here isn't really my style. And besides, with how many hunters she already has on her, I have a better advantage." I said.

And before either one of them could respond to that, I already made a run for it. As I was already halfway there, there weren't anybody trying to stop me yet. So that told me that they had their defenders guarding the flag directly. That means the very second I'm close to the flag, that's when they'll fire at me. Ares did teach me the first most important rule about fighting which is very important in fighting a battle, always mind your surroundings.

"Percy, what are you doing!?" Thalia screeched.

I just ignored her and continued doing what I do best, follow my instincts.

As I got within at least five feet near the flag, that's when I heard the launching of arrows. Through my instincts, I heard them coming from the trees. Using my sword, I just easily deflected them. The more arrows I deflected with Riptide, the more arrows were shot at me. I also kinda felt a little like Neo in The Matrix. I was deflecting more dodging, but I felt a little of The Matrix in me right now to. The only thing I have to say is that thank Ares for training me these past few months, otherwise I'd be dead meat.

This went on for like five minutes, and every arrow thrown at me, I easily deflected. I kinda felt like a Jedi Knight here. Every blast that was thrown at me, I just easily protect myself from with a blade and I'm safe. I can only imagine how irritated the hunters are getting at the fact that none of their arrows are able to hit me. Though the more this continued, the more I began to think that they were expecting this of me, like this wasn't much of a problem for them really, even though they'd prefer an arrow hit me by now. Thinking this, I took a leap of faith. Using my strength, I launched myself up and got their flag without being hit.

The horn signaling the end of the game was blown. I actually did it. I got their flag. Though I don't really know if we won though, because when I looked back, I saw that someone had gotten our flag as well. The defensive team was on the ground in ropes and arrows. Luckily though, no one was dead, so that was good. As this confusion came to my mind, Chiron came up.

"Well, it would seem we have ourselves a stalemate. Zoe Nightshade, lieutenant of the Hunt has captured the camp's flag. But at the same time, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon has captured the hunters' flag. Since both flags seem to have been captured at the same time, we'll have to call this game a draw, and bring the winning streak of the hunters to an end. Dismissed." Chiron announced.

So it was a tie. I can live with that. At least I got their flag at some point. Plus, a draw is better than losing. Though judging how she was storming her way towards me, I don't think Thalia was in the same place as me.

"What were you doing Percy!? I told you to defend the flag no matter what!" Thalia yelled.

"Technically, no, you never said that to me at all. And what I did was what I do best, follow my instincts." I answered.

So much for trying not to get in another cousin to cousin quarrel.

"I had it all under control! I had everything going perfectly fine!" Thalia yelled.

"You had too many hunters on you. You had no way of getting to the flag without getting hit." I countered.

"Oh, so now this is my fault!?" Thalia exclaimed.

"I didn't say that." I said.

At that, Thalia just yelled and pushed me down the cliff I was in front of. Needless to say, with it being filled with rocks and stones, it was quite an unpleasant fall. Along the fall, I landed in the river, which was the good part. The bad part though was that my head ended up landing hard on a rock. And my head was just pounding.

"PERCY!" I heard Clarisse call.

Clarisse's POV

When Percy said that the new kids would be thrilled to meet me and hear more about our baby, he wasn't kidding. These kids were great. They both couldn't stop trying to find some kicks out of my belly. Their touches didn't feel anywhere as good as Percy's but they were nice.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Bianca asked.

"We don't know really." I answered.

"Which one do you hope for?" Nico asked.

"Like Percy I don't really care. Just as long as it's a healthy baby, I'm fine with either one." I answered.

Just then, the horn sounded, signaling that the game was over. The three of us went to see the results. And as I expected, the hunters once again captured our flag. But I was shocked to see that Percy had also had their flag. I couldn't believe it. Someone had finally and actually captured the hunters' flag. But who won? Who got the flag first? As I was wondering this, Chiron stepped in.

"Well, it would seem we have ourselves a stalemate. Zoe Nightshade, lieutenant of the Hunt has captured the camp's flag. But at the same time, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon has captured the hunters' flag. Since both flags seem to have been captured at the same time, we'll have to call this game a draw, and bring the winning streak of the hunters to an end. Dismissed." Chiron announced.

Percy actually did it. He didn't win exactly, but he brought the Hunt's winning streak to an end. I was so proud of him. I had many thoughts rolling in my mind as to how to properly congratulate him, note the wiggling of my eyebrows.

"What were you doing Percy!? I told you to defend the flag no matter what!" Thalia yelled, who seemed to be angry that it was a tie instead of camp winning for once.

"Technically, no, you never said that to me at all. And what I did was what I do best, follow my instincts." Percy answered.

"I had it all under control! I had everything going perfectly fine!" Thalia yelled.

"You had too many hunters on you. You had no way of getting to the flag without getting hit." Percy countered.

"Oh, so now this is my fault!?" Thalia exclaimed.

"I didn't say that." Percy said.

Then Thalia pushed him down a cliff and made him fall into the river. But when he got in the river, I saw and heard his head land on a rock.

"PERCY!" I exclaimed running over to him.

A few other campers were running over to him. When I got to him, he had a nasty bump on his head and he had blood pouring out of it as well.

"Percy!" I exclaimed.

"Ow, not so loud, please." Percy groaned in pain, clutching his head.

"Percy!" Thalia yelled coming.

"Percy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Thalia said trying to come over to him.

"Get away from him!" I said coming between her and Percy.

"Clarisse, I didn't mean to hurt him." Thalia said.

"You knew he was right in front of a cliff and you pushed him down!" I argued.

"I didn't mean to do that. I was just frustrated." Thalia argued.

"Frustrated that he was able to accomplish what you couldn't? Frustrated that he's clearly a better demigod than you? Is that it!?" I exclaimed.

Percy in the meantime was trying to heal himself with the river. Judging by the slight groans he was making, I could tell that even though he was able to get rid of his bump, his head was still aching. I was so angry at Thalia right now. She had some nerve to be angry at Percy for making a move. But then she pushes him down a cliff for it? That's absolute bullshit. I don't care if Thalia meant that or not. She still hurt Percy for no reason and I was beyond pissed about it. Thalia looked lost and shocked at what I said. Well, whether she likes it or not, it's true. Percy really is the best camp has. I was once proud to call myself that, but now I'm glad to call Percy that. Because Percy's not just physically strong, but also mentally and spiritually. Anyone who dares to think that they're better than Percy has no idea what Percy is capable of. Even I don't know exactly, but I do know that he's the best. And he's also the best boyfriend a woman like me could ever ask for. So Thalia doing what she did to him just a minute ago was enough to make me want to strangle a minotaur. Thalia looked like she was about to comment on what I said. But before she could, a green mist came out of nowhere and brought everyone's attention to it. It all came together into a spot of the battlefield and oracle came forth. The Spirit of Delphi came out to us.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

And shall be lost in the land without rain,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

The titan's curse one must withstand,

And shall feel despair by parent's hand.

And with that, the oracle fell down to the ground as if it just died. After that, I turned my attention back to Percy, who had finished healing himself and gotten back on his feet. But he was still clutching his head and hissing in pain a little.

"Percy are you okay?" I asked worried about him and moved his hand to see where he landed.

"Well, I'm not bleeding and I don't have a nasty bump on my head anymore. But I still feel like someone tried to hammer a nail in my head. I may have landed on my head a little harder than what I thought." Percy said.

"Oh Percy." I said bringing him for a tight embrace.

He buried his head in my hair, or at least where he landed on his head. I guess he's a little to hurt to fully heal himself right now. But I was here, and I was going to keep him from getting hurt again.

Hope the chapter was at least okay. I purposely altered the prophecy. I kinda have a few changes from the novel planned. Sorry for not updating sooner. Spring break has been fun. Too bad it's almost over. But despite that, I miss my pets and my home. So I can't wait to get back as well. Hopefully I can get another chapter posted very soon. Maybe along the car ride home, if my computer lasts long enough and I'm able to type fast enough.