The days leading up to Wednesday were some of the most hectic the campers had ever experienced. If there was a camper who wasn't paying attention, who would have automatically known all the events that were transpiring. There was an all out war going on between Katie and Danny. It was like everything they did was to drive the other crazy. One event was when Katie set up a booby trap that zapped Danny with 50 volts of electricity. Another time was when Danny put a quicksand trap in fromt of the showers when she got out and she was stuck half-naked until he finally let her out. Luckily for her she had a towel around her. They knew that these events would keep going until they were away from each other.

Finally, Wednesday came. Everyone was ecstatic about the Capture the Flag match. Poseidon and Apollo held the flag so they picked as many cabins as possible. Apollo was able to sway the Hecate, Ares, Zeus, Hephaestus, Iris, Eris, and Demeter cabins to their side, their team color red while Poseidon got the Athena, Asclepius, Hades, Aphrodite, Nemesis, Dionysus, Nike, Hermes, and Gaia cabins, their team color blue.

Once dinner was done everyone headed for the armory. Katie was picking out her armor, Jolt strapped to her side and Static out and ready. As she was fixing her armor Danny came up to her.

"If I were you I wouldn't head around our flag," said Danny.

"Thanks Captain Obvious, I'll remember that when we beat you," she replied. He just shrugged and walked away. Her gaxe followed his back as he went. She did have to wonder what he meant by that. After everyone was strapped and armed they all headed to the woods. As they gathered Chiron stood out in the boundary clearing marked by the stream.

"You know the rules, no maiming. Magical items can be used. Teams, plant your flags," he said. The two teams headed for their territory until they were out of sight. Katie's team planted their flag on Zeus's Fist. Their leader, Jerry Miggs of Apollo, talked about their battle plan.

"Trevor, take the archers to lay down fire on the flanks. We need to pin down their center. Katie, lead the strike team once their center is disoriented. You should be able to reach the flag and get it back. Once you and their center are fighting our reserves will hold back their flanks," he said. "Commanders, you got that?" All the commanders nodded.

"Good, let's do this," he said. The conch signal started the match. Immediately the archers on her side sprang over to their flanks. Their bows readied as they waited for the enemy. Their center waited at the boundary of the river and hid amongst the trees and rocks. At first nothing happened. The other side was strangely quiet, a mist shrouding everything. Not a thing was stirring. The only noise came from birds or animals in the trees. Then all of a sudden, warriors came out of the mist. They all screamed a battle cry and headed for the boundary in one massive wave.

"Archers, fire!" screamed Jerry. The red team's archers opened up on the blue team. The blue team's advancing warriors went into the tortoise, a formation that resembled the Roman testudo in which the shields are put above everyone's head so that no arrows can get through. Seeing that the blue team was for the most part vulnerable the red team's warriors charged into them. The tortoise broke formation as the two team's warriors collided. Soon there was a mini-battle going all along the creek.

Katie broke through to the other side unnoticed and ran to wherever the red team's flag was situated. She traveled through the woods, making sure o stay away from open areas so that her mission went unseen. Every now and again a warrior from the blue team would charge past, not seeing her there. Her luck was holding out so far, now all she needed to do was find the flag. Little did she know was that she was being watched.

Behind her she could hear the clash of battle going on and she knew that her team couldn't hold out much longer. She all around for the flag, not seeing anything with a trident or anything sea-green anywhere. Just as she was about to give up she saw the flag fluttering in a clearing, with no guards! Katie thought they must have sent everyone to retrieve the flag so they thought they would beat her team easily before anyone from the opposing side would dare touch their flag. This was like stealing from a bank with the vault wide open. Katie immediately ran towards.

Just as she was about to touch the flag she felt the ground under move and her feet were locked in place by it.

"I do remember telling you that I wouldn't come around here if I were you," said the voice she loathed entirely. Danny jumped out from a tree and landed on the ground, Seismos and Lithos at the ready. Katie tapped Jolt on the ground holding her feet in and a shock of electricity broke her free from it's grasp. She turned around, holding Jolt and Static, ready to attack or defend.

"Let's see what you got Sky," he said.

"Oh I'll show you," she said. She held Jolt to the heavens and a arc of lightning hit him. Then she aimed Jolt for Danny and the lightning flew towards him. He brought his shield up to block the blast. The lightning squarely in the middle and smoke flew out from the blast, allowing Katie to not see Danny for sometime. When the smoke cleared he was still there, the lightning blast not even making a dent on his shield.

"My turn," said Danny. He stabbed Seismos into the ground and a boulder the size of the biggest rock on Zeus's fist appeared from the ground. The, Danny flung it at her. Katie dived to one side as the boulder barreled past her. She got off the ground, getting the leaves and dir out of her face. She charge towards Danny, her first blow hitting his shield. Danny counter-attacked with a slash to her helmet that sheared the horse hair plume from it. Katie retaliated by hitting Jolt on his shield and sending electricity surging through it. Danny reacted just in time to throw Lithos off before the electricity surged through his body. this left him without a shield.

"Scared yet?" said Katie.

"You wish," he said. He put his arm on the ground and a full cast of rock and gravel encased itself around it. Katie gulped when she saw it.

"Now who's the scared one?" said Danny. He aimed a blow towards Katie's torso, and then kicked her shield that sent her crashing to the ground. Katie got up and slashed at Danny's shield arm. When sword collided with stone she tried to surge her electricity through it, but found that it didn't work.

"Forgot to mention one thing, stone can't conduct electricity," said Danny. He knocked Jolt away from his arm, then slashed the straps away that were holding Static to her arm. Static landed on the ground. Katie's first instinct was to check her arm for any cuts, but to her surprise there was no cut, a scratc or even an imprint that the sword was even there. His sword had even touched her skin.

"How did you do that?" she said.

"It's a little thing that took years of practice. Congratulations, your the first person I tried it on and succeeded," said Danny. Now that Katie had no shield for protection he knew it was a matter of time before he got the edge over her. He charged towards her, his stone arm held ready to block the forst blow, but it never came. Danny couldn't even react in time when Jolt surged with electricity and a arc of lightning hit him in the chest. He was launched through the air as the stone on his arm fragmented from the ferocity of the blast and his helmet was kncoked off him. He laned on the ground, motionless. Katie took a few steps toward him.

"And I thought you were suppose to be a match," said Katie as she was about to turn towards the flag Danny's eyes shot open. He jumped onto his knees and sent a stone the size of a person towards Katie's gut. It her squarely there and she was knocked down to the ground. When she got up she noticed her hemet was off and saw Danny looking directly at her still kneeling on the ground. She watched with horror as rocks started to travel up his body towards his head. When ot got there they seemed to get together into pieces like a puzzle until they completely solidified on his head in the shape of a Spartan helmet from 300. She also saw that the place that she hit him with lightning was gone.

"How are you.."

"Rested, fitter, and stronger? The earth gives me strength and provides me wth all the energy I need. Which os bad news for you. Everytime I hit the ground, I come back up stronger," he said. He charged towards her, Seismos in his hands. Katie scrambled off the ground and ran for the flag. She retrieved it with her free hand and began to run with all her might towards the boundary. As she was running she saw Danny gaining on her, running like an Olympic track star with full battle armor on. She tried with all her might to run faster, but it seemed like the ground was trying to stop her everytime she put her feet down.

She was nearing the boundary and her team saw her running. They cheered her on to keep running. When she was about ten steps away from the boundary the ground in front of her formed into a wall. She collided with it and slumped to the ground. When she tried to get up she found a sudden weight on her chest. She turned her eyes to see Danny's foot placed on her to keep her down to the ground, holding his flag in his free hand.

"You may be a child of the Sky god, but I'm a child of the Earth mother. And as you can see, you're locked in her crushing embrace," said Danny. She tried to get up, but Danny was too strong for her. She also saw that he wasn't even lugging her to jail or anything.

"Why aren't you taking me to jail?" she asked.

"I want to see the look on your face when we win in 3, 2, 1," said Danny. A chorus of explosive cheers came after he finished and Katie turned her head to see that Annabeth had ran across the boundary, the golden flag of Apollo held in her hands. As they watched it changed to the owl in grey. Everyone on the blue team cheered while those on the red team groaned from the loss. Danny took his foot off of Katie to let her up, letting his stone helmet fall off and turn back into individual rocks and heading back to get his shield back. Katie went off right afetr him to get hers.

The two said not a word to each other as they walked back, trying their best not to even look in their direction. After he had gotten Lithos back he tapped the Omega sign and it spiraled back into a wristband. Katie lugged Static with one of the broke straps onto her back and began to walk back to the boundary line. When they got back they saw Chiron, announcing the winners and giving the laurel wreath to Annabeth. Once that was done he reminded everyone that the wedding was tomorrow in that afternoon and their Olympian parent were showing up, and they were reminded to behave until then. Once that was done everyone headed to the armory to hang their armor up.

Katie was hanging hers up when she saw put his up at the end of her row. As she looked he saw him rub the area under his shirt where the lightning had hit him. In the place of the brusie that was there was a red, raw patch of skin. He lookedlike he was in a little pain, but what did she care they were enemies after all. Yet, sometimes, enemies cared about the other. She decided to go and see if she could help him, even though every cell in her body was screamin no.

"Danny, are you okay?" she asked. Danny just glared back at her, knowing she was the cause of this discomfort.

"I'm sorry about hitting you with lightning. I was angry and I just wanted you to feel pain," she said.

"Well, you did a pretty good job of showing that," he said.

"Well you can't be too mad at me becuase you pelted me with a boulder," she said, her voice rising.

"Last time I checked a little internal damage never hurt anyone, however lightning bolts are a serious problem," he yelled.

"You are such an ass!" she said.

"Rather be one than look like one!" he said, storming away from her. Katie would have sent another bolt of electricity at him, but she didn't wanna get hit by another boulde again.