Capture The Flag

A few days later, Camp Half-blood was almost obviously divided. On one side, you had those who supported Percy, then the other side were the ones who supported Jason. So far, there weren't any fights except for Percy and Annabeth against Jason and Piper. Chiron and Mr. D were making sure there were no fights.

Percy was standing still as Annabeth helped him fix his armor straps.

"You know, there's a big chance you'll fight Jason tonight." Annabeth warned him.

"I know, but you know I can't just not participate." Percy said.

Annabeth tightened the strap, "Just do me a favor and don't run off to go fight him. You do know the plan, right?"

"Yeah…what was the plan again?" Percy asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes but she was smiling anyways, "Me and you are sticking together. We're going to send the Hermes cabin to go and steal the flag while you and I try to distract the enemy team."

"Right, and how are we going to do that?" Percy said.

"Easy, we're going to do what you did when you first got here. You and I are on border patrol." Annabeth said while grinning.

"You're kidding." Percy said as he stared at her.

"I'm not." Annabeth said.

"Gods, this is going to be so boring." Percy groaned.

Border patrol was the job that no camper wanted during capture the flag. It was just being bait for the enemy team, which meant a lot of border guards usually had to carry a bag of ambrosia or a canteen of nectar. In extreme cases, some had to be sent to the infirmary. No one envied them.

Just as Annabeth finished strapping her sword around her waist, the conch horn sounded.

"Well, let's go and get this over with." Percy said.

Both demigods grabbed their helmets. Instead of red or blue horsehair plumes, they were green. Anyone on Percy's side would use green plumes while those on Jason's team would use blue. Chiron really couldn't do much about the color change, especially since he believed it was only going to be a one time thing.

As soon as Percy stepped outside, he almost felt bad for Jason's team. The only ones wearing blue plumes were the Hephaestus campers, the Dionysus campers, the Hecate campers, Piper, and Jason himself. Nico and the Apollo campers were sitting this game out, alongside the rest of Piper's cabin and some minor cabins. Everyone else was wearing green, even the Ares campers were wearing green.

Percy walked over to the bonfire, where Chiron was waiting with the flags. Soon everyone was surrounding the Centaur.

"Listen up, heroes!" Chiron called, "You all know the rules. No maiming or killing. Prisoners may be bound but not gagged. No more than two guards around the flag. Magic items are allowed. I will be serving as battlefield medic, good luck!"

The flags were handed over to Percy and Jason alike.

Jason's flag was clearly designed by him alone, because instead of the typical flag pole, it was actually a Roman standard, the golden eagle was polished and shined against the torchlight. The flag itself was blue with a white lightning bolt painted in the center.

Percy's flag was a combined effort of him and Annabeth. It was a green flag with a silver owl holding a trident in the center.

Percy and Jason glared at each other with competitive gazes. Both would meet on the battlefield eventually, whether the other was ready or not.

Percy had his flag hidden in a small grove. He saw Jason disappear into the forest at the beginning, which meant that Percy would have to be on the attack. At least, that was what he thought until he started thinking about how Jason would be playing.

Percy found Clarisse polishing her spear, "Hey, listen, Jason might try to come for the flag, I need you to pick two of your best fighters and have them guard the flag."

Clarisse stared at him, "But we have to go on the attack, don't we?"

"Yeah, but so does Jason. He might not be in Camp Jupiter anymore, but I know how they fight. Romans can't stand having to wait. He's going to get impatient and attack." Percy said.

"Got it." Clarisse said, walking off to go find her siblings.

Percy turned to see Annabeth smiling at him. "What?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing," She said, "It's just nice seeing you lead again."

"Don't get comfortable. We need to get to the creek." Percy said.

Percy and Annabeth were quick. While they ran to the creek, they saw their team preparing a offensive against Jason's team. Clarisse was leading the main attack while Malcolm led a small Athenian legion to flank Jason.

The creek was quiet and peaceful. Percy noticed that there were no blue team guards which was odd. There was nothing stopping Percy and Annabeth from waltzing across the creek and ending up on Jason's right flank.

"This doesn't seem right." Annabeth said as she looked out over the creek.

"Well, yeah, there's no one here." Percy said.

Annabeth shook her head while she kept looking. Percy was wondering exactly what Jason was planning. He didn't cross the creek though, the last thing Percy wanted was to walk right into a trap.

Sounds of battle rang out from inside the forest. Swords clanged against swords and shields. Campers yelled while moving around. Percy watched as a Hermes camper ran by with a small bag of stink bombs before disappearing into the forest.

It wasn't long until Percy learned Jason's plans. A large group of blue team half-bloods burst out of the trees. It had to be half their team, and worse for Percy, Jason was leading them. Percy saw Leo and his siblings amongst the group as well as Piper.

"They're here!" Annabeth yelled, drawing her sword.

Percy uncapped Riptide and stood his ground. Annabeth whistled for reinforcements, which was made up of her remaining siblings. Percy heard a whistle back, but he knew better than to rely on them. They'd take a while to get to him and Annabeth, and time was something they didn't have.

Sure enough, Jason and his entourage made it to Percy. Annabeth broke off and started fighting Leo. Percy was so focused on Jason that he barely dodged a attack from Piper. Her dagger would've knocked his sword out of his hand if he hadn't seen her getting ready to swing.

"Don't underestimate Piper!" Annabeth warned.

Percy didn't respond. He launched into his own attack on Piper. He knew she was agile and fast, but he had range and strength on his side. He also had a ace up his sleeve. The creek itself.

Instead of pushing Piper back to the forest, Percy started retreating.

"To me!" Piper cried out. Two half-bloods joined her as she pushed Percy towards the creek.

Percy looked around. Leo was on the ground, disarmed and his hands up. Annabeth was going head to head with Jason now and she was keeping up. Most of Jason's allies were avoiding them, not wanting to get drawn into their deadly duel. Instead, they were starting to push Percy.

One camper struck out at Percy. He must've been new, because when Percy did the disarming maneuver, the camper lost control of his sword and had to run away to avoid getting cut to ribbons by Riptide.

Finally, Percy felt his foot hit the water. That was when he stopped retreating. He stopped and planted both feet into the water. His strength surged back to life and his green eyes glowed with determination.

Piper and her half-bloods rushed into the creek, ready to overwhelm Percy and disarm him. That was their crucial mistake. Piper must've noticed it too, because she shouted, "Wait!"

It was too late. Water exploded around the half-bloods, sending most of them back while knocking their weapons out of their hands. Percy dealt with the remaining one. He was faster and much stronger in the water, they didn't stand a chance. Any attempt to block Percy's strikes were completely futile.

Piper drew back, just managing to avoid Percy.

Percy looked around and was getting ready to follow Piper when he heard a familiar cry. He looked over to see Jason with a look of fear on his face while Annabeth crumpled to the ground while clutching her chest. He saw bits of her armor on the ground.

Rage surged through Percy, mixing with the water to turn him into a war machine. Percy zipped above the water like a missile, launching off a small wave and flying towards Jason who was trying to see if Annabeth was okay. He looked up just as Percy crashed into him.

"Wait, Perce, truce!" Jason yelled as Percy went wild with slashes.

"You hurt Annabeth." Percy growled, not letting up.

"It was a accident!" Jason said, running back to make some room between him and the furious son of Poseidon.

By now, the remaining members of Jason's team emerged on Jason's sides. Even Leo had managed to pick up his weapon and rejoin the fight.

Percy stared down every single half-blood in sight. He moved in between them and Annabeth, who was hissing and moaning in pain. Percy gripped Riptide hard. His eyes were dark and full of rage that rivaled that of Ares. He'd faced hundreds of monsters in Tartarus for Annabeth, he could take out a few half-bloods.

"Percy—" Jason was cut off when a jet of water slammed into him.

Wind started to pick up, thunder rumbled in the distance. The sky started to flash with lightning and the trees started to shake. The ground trembled, causing a few half-bloods to nervously back away.

Jason sat up and rubbed the side of his head. He looked over to see Percy walking towards him.

Percy was furious. Accusing him of theft was one thing, hurting the one person who he loved so much that he fell into literal hell for her was another thing.

A female voice echoed into Percy's mind: To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. Percy was all too willing to admit that Athena was right. He was so angry that he was willing to hurt Jason for hurting Annabeth.

Percy let out a rage-filled shout and attacked Jason. Jason was ready though. He brought his sword up and caught Percy's blade before it hit his armor. The force of Percy's strike would've shattered the son of Zeus's armor.

Jason kicked Percy's leg, trying to get him to fall. Percy meanwhile pushed Jason. Jason's teammates could only watch in awe as the two demigods exchanged blows. Percy was getting faster and faster, mainly from the survival instinct that he had developed in Tartarus. Jason was using everything that Lupa taught him, but even that was starting to crack under the storm that was Percy.

It was only a matter of time before one of them slipped. Jason failed to see Percy change direction, and that let Percy slash his shoulder. Jason let out a shout of pain. Thunder roared overhead.

Percy backed away, his face showing no fear at all. If anything, he was observing Jason. He wanted to see just what Jason would do. When all training fails, then what does a Roman do?

Jason stood up, wincing from the pain. He glared at Percy, his blue eyes flashing with lightning. He dropped his sword and out stretched his hand. Electricity cackled at his fingertips.

Percy meanwhile started to rise in his own personal hurricane. Conch horns sounded, whether the game was over or if Chiron was warning everyone of Percy and Jason, he didn't know. He was too focused on trying to take Jason Grace down.

"You want to fight, then let's fight!" Jason shouted, shooting lightning towards Percy.

The lighting hit Percy, knocking him out of the hurricane and into the creek. He got up and rode a wave back to Jason, hopping off and twirling Riptide. Jason grabbed his sword and tried to hold it in a fighting stance but Percy noticed his injury was hindering him.

The two flew towards each other, fury blazing in their eyes and swords at the ready. Thunder boomed at the same time that their swords crossed.

"By the gods, what is going on here?!" Chiron's voice yelled.

Percy didn't bother to answer. He was fighting Jason at the moment. He continued his assault, not at all phased by Jason's power or the calls to stop by other campers. Jason seemed to be locked in the same frenzied state.

Just as Percy was about to slice Jason again, Jason knocked his sword aside by hitting his hand and pointing a finger at Percy which cackled with electricity, a firm voice shouted, "Stop!"

Jason lowered his hand, which was good because a lightning strike that close would've severely injured Percy. Percy looked over to see Piper standing there. Annabeth was behind her, and she looked amazed but also concerned. She appeared to be fine since she was standing on her own.

"You two need to chill out." Piper said.

"Annabeth." Percy said, walking towards her.

"She's fine, Percy, I gave her some ambrosia." Piper said.

Percy shot her a thankful glance before pulling Annabeth into a tight hug. The daughter of Athena returned the hug and patted Percy on the back.

"I'm fine, Percy." She said, "Now go apologize to Jason."

"Okay." He said, regretfully breaking the hug and turning to walk towards Jason who was kneeling. He was breathing heavily and blood gushed from his shoulder.

Jason looked up, but his furious expression was gone. Percy reached for his waist and pulled out a canteen of nectar. He held it out. Jason nodded and grabbed the canteen and drinking the sweet substance. Instantly, his wound started closing up and he was able to stand.

"Sorry." Percy said, "That was my bad, I shouldn't have lost it like that."

"It's okay." Jason said, patting him on the shoulder, "I should've been more careful. Sorry about Annabeth."

Chiron clopped over and put a hand on both demigods' shoulders, "You two are in trouble. Fighting after the game has ended is against the rules. You both know that." He looked at Percy, "Percy, you should know by now that maiming is not allowed."

"Sir, it was my—" Jason said.

"You are grounded, Mr. Grace." Chiron said, "As for you, Perseus. You're on stable cleaning duty for two weeks. I do not want to see this behavior repeated, understand?"

"Sure thing." Percy said.

"Yes, sir." Jason said.

"Good, now all of you, to your cabins!" Chiron said, "Well fought, though it got out of hand. Green team has won." He pointed to Clarisse who was wearing the laurel wreaths.

"Damn." Jason cursed, "I should've tried to flank the other way."

Chiron clopped away to the Big House. Campers started dispersing, a few glancing at Jason and Percy who were still tired from their fight.

"Hey, no hard feelings, right?" Percy asked.

"No hard feelings. Don't think you're off the hook though, I still want my bolt back." Jason said.

"And I still don't have it." Percy said as he walked away.