STILL PERCY

If there were one good thing that came from this quest, it would be the simple fact that we got to see Frank and Hazel again. With the camps being on opposite sides of the US, traveling was not an easy feat. There was also the whole problem with Frank being a Praetor now. Reyna had friends at Camp Half-Blood too. They couldn't both ever leave camp at the same time, and neither of them wanted to stay behind when the other left. It kind of sucked. When Frank and Hazel passed customs they pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Percy! It's so good to see you!" Before I knew it, I was wrapped in a big bear hug. I should know, I'd had one from Frank the Bear before.

"Good to see you too Frank. Hey, Hazel. How was your trip?" After a significantly lighter hug from her, I was given an answer.

"It wasn't too bad. It was long, that's for sure." I nodded. Even if I never flew when I could help it, I had made a flight from LA to NYC when I was twelve. It was probably the scariest moment of my twelve-year-old life. Fighting the war god Ares had seemed so peaceful compared to that flight.

"Well let's get you back to camp and try to catch the last of dinner." They nodded and Frank's stomach made the 'feed me now' sounds. Hazel and I laughed, as Frank became one red Chinese-Canadian. The ride back to camp was kind of long due to the city traffic. Luckily I'd lived in NYC my whole life and there are a lot of ways to bypass such traffic. It only took about ten minutes longer than usual to pull up to the camp. I helped Frank with the bags and we both told Hazel to head to dinner. I took Frank's bags to the Ares cabin as he took Hazel's bags to the Hades cabin. I figured he just didn't want me going where his girlfriend slept. I hesitated at the door to the Ares cabin for just a moment. I mean, when the residents of a place hate your guts it's always good to be alert when entering. I found an empty bunk and put Frank's bags down. Then I got out of there as fast as I possibly could. Once I got outside of where the land mines were I let out the breath I'd been holding. I silently promised myself that I would never again enter the Ares cabin without Annabeth or Frank at my side.

"BROTHER!"

I had a split second to relax all of my muscles before Tyson plowed into me and knocked me off my feet. Think of the worst car crash you've ever been in, and then multiply your injuries by ten and then maybe you'll understand what it's like to get run over by a Cyclops. I'd learned a long time ago that the best way not to get injured is to completely relax. Surprisingly, it works.

"Tyson, I'm not breathing."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Percy! Please, let me help you get up!" After he got to his feet my diaphragm (hey, Annabeth has taught me a lot) was able to expand and collapse like normal. I mentally checked for any pain but my whole body was throbbing a little. I took Tyson's hand when he offered it and let him pull me up.

"I'm happy to see you buddy. How was the trip here?" Tyson smiled again and I couldn't help but return it. He was by far the happiest, most friendly, most caring Cyclops I had ever met.

"I was able to borrow the current and get here faster. Rainbow (that's his hippocampus which is basically a water horse) was very fast. She is sad that you are leaving though. I am sad too, I will not see you for a very long time." I pulled his arm and threw mine around him. He and I have never been super close, but we are brothers. Half-brothers on the godly side, but we are brothers nonetheless. He returned the hug a little more gently this time and I felt one of his massive tears hit my back.

"Tyson, I'm going to miss you. But we can talk every week if you want. I'll let you know what time of day is good once I get where I'm going, but if that's something you'd like, I can make sure that I'm in the bathroom once a week so we can talk. It won't be the same as seeing you in person, but I think it'll be nice to at least see you and talk to you, right?" Tyson nodded and shook my whole body.

"Well let's go see if there's time to get some food before Capture the Flag." He released me and we walked towards the dining pavilion. We made it with a few minutes to spare so Tyson got to eat and I gotta finish what little food I felt I was able to stomach. My appetite had been greatly affected by the news of the quest. Jason kept giving me funny looks as I didn't eat all of my food, but I ignored him for the moment. Then, thankfully, Chiron took all of the attention off of me not eating as he made some announcements.

"Attention Campers. As you may have noticed, there are some Romans among us. If you will be patient, all will be explained. There have been rumors going around the camp and I would put an end to them. Lady Hecate was indeed here this morning. She will be returning to camp tomorrow evening to issue a quest and spend some time with her demigod children. Gods and goddesses do not often issue quests themselves, so if you are chosen be prepared for anything. Now, there will be a game of Capture the Flag tonight, and then at the campfire the Apollo and Ares cabins have a demonstration to put on. I know nothing of the nature of this agreement so please, do not ask. Lord Apollo, have you anything to add?"

Apollo had been listening to his iPod so I doubted he was aware of anything Chiron had said.

"No, nothing. Thank you Chiron." Chiron nodded and went back to his place at the table. I turned to Will who I had sat next to, again, and he put up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I'm under sworn oath to not tell anyone what's going to happen. I am not participating, and neither is Clarisse but that is all I can say without being cursed by my siblings." None of us were satisfied, but we accepted that we would just have to wait.

FRANK

Capture the Flag was nothing like the War Games at Camp Jupiter, and that was one of the reasons why he loved it so much. It wasn't about getting over a wall; it was about surviving in the forest without dying or being maimed. No one had died in Capture the Flag for over five years. Camp Jupiter's War Games had a much higher casualty list. Camp Half-Blood treated CTF like a game, but Camp Jupiter used the War Games as training for actual battle. He had given Hazel a kiss and then hustled over to the Ares cabin to ask which team his siblings were on. Ares usually sided against Minerva and with Mercury. The other cabins got divided evenly or unevenly. It was just a matter of who was acting friendly at the moment.

"Clarisse! Whom will we be fighting with in Capture the Flag?" She and I had never really seen eye to eye, but we both enjoyed winning. She gave me a grunt and then answered my question.

"Ares has allied with Hermes, Iris, Zeus, Nemesis, Nike, Hypnos, Hebe, Tyche, and Demeter. We have 103 campers on our side. The enemies are Athena, Poseidon, Apollo, Hecate, Aphrodite, Hades, Dionysus, and Hephaestus. They have 83 campers if all of the Aphrodite kids decide to play, which they don't. So they will more than likely have under 70 campers."

"Numbers don't always win the battle. They have Apollo, Hecate, and the Vulcan, I mean, Hephaestus. Those three cabins pack a lot of punch. I'm not saying we'll lose, but we can't just assume that because our force is greater that we will crush them. We have to keep our guard up." She sneered at me but nodded anyway. Like I said, we don't really get along.

"We have Nike on our side. The Nike children are just as fierce as any of the Ares kids. They always want to win. I think we will succeed." I nodded and headed to where I saw my duffel. Percy had picked a bunk that was kind of out of the way from the other campers. It was in a corner, which suited me, but it was also near the back door and was good for getting out quickly. I pulled my armor out and began to strap it on. Once I was finished I went to look for Hazel. I would have to fight against her, but I wasn't so into the game that I wouldn't say 'hi' before it started.

"Frank!" I turned to see Jason coming up behind me.

"Hey Jason. What's up?"

"I was heading to the Aphrodite cabin to see if Piper would walk with me to the campfire before Capture the Flag started. She gets really into it and since I'm not on her team it'll be even worse."

"I'm not on Hazel's team but she and I aren't as competitive when it comes to Capture the Flag. We love it, but it's just not like the War Games. This is like a sport and the War Games are more like, well, war. You get it, I mean, you were Roman first." Jason laughed and nodded.

"Well, you're right about that, I was Roman first." We shook hands and he jogged over to Venus' cabin. I had a hard time remembering to call the gods by their Greek names here, but the campers had either gotten over it or used to it because they didn't correct us when we visited anymore. Hazel and Nico were leaving their cabin as I got to the front door. They both smiled at me, but Nico headed in the direction of Apollo's cabin and Hazel stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey."

I smiled, "Hey, yourself." She gave me a hug and before I let her go, I pressed a kiss into her hair.

"So, we're on different teams again."

"Yea, but I'm betting that we won't have to fight. You and Nico will be looking for the flag and I'll be doing the same. We won't cross paths because you'll be underground." She laughed and took my hand in hers. I let her lead me to the campfire and we discussed the game the whole way.

STILL FRANK

The entire camp, minus some Aphrodite and Hypnos kids, were gathered around the large fire in the Amphitheater. Hazel and I separated at the entrance and sat with our respective teams. Chiron and Apollo were in the center waiting for us to settle down. When Apollo deemed that the campers who would be playing were all in attendance, he started the rules speech.

"Attention, demigods. Tonight's Capture the Flag should be very interesting. While Ares has chosen to take most of the camp as their allies, Athena has chosen to rely on the abilities of their own allies. We shall see if having more bodies outweighs having more demigods who possess more desirable skills. Now, as per the norm, please refrain from killing one another. Maiming is fine, but do your best to keep the maiming to a minimum. Use any weapon, magical artifact, or power you possess and most importantly, have fun! Athena, you are the Blue team, and Ares, you are the Red team. The boundaries are the same as always."

Apollo raised his hand in the air and a trumpet appeared. He raised the instrument to his lips and the demigods grasped their weapons tight. Once the trumpet sounded, a mighty shout rang out from the camp. Then the crowd began to head towards the forest. I followed my team out of the amphitheater and headed towards the far side of the forest.

Every time I had played capture the flag Mars and Minerva were always on opposing sides. With Annabeth leading the Minerva side of things and Clarisse leading the Mars side, the teams didn't really change a lot. But for the most part, Hecate, Neptune, and Hyperion always sided with Minerva. Mars usually had Mercury, Nemesis, and Iris. The other cabins got swapped more often than not. I had never been on Annabeth's team for CTF, but I held out hope that one day I'd get to play on her side. She wasn't the camp's best strategist for nothing. Even though she wasn't currently at camp, the team her siblings had picked was probably the better team. My team, the red team, held the side of the forest with Zeus' Fist and Annabeth's team, the blue team, held the other nearest the Mess Hall. Apparently Annabeth and Clarisse had flipped a Drachma over it earlier in the week.

"Red team, to me!" shouted Clarisse. She happened to be the loudest child of Mars I'd ever met. We headed deeper and deeper into the forest and ended at Zeus' Fist. Clarisse stood a head taller than most of the campers assembled, and she used that to her advantage.

"Hermes kids! You will be in charge of the middle ground! Anyone who violates the first line of defense will be running right into you! Demeter kids! You will be the second line of defense. Use the forest to your advantage and stop as many as you can! Jason, you take the Iris and Nike kids and hide the flag! Ares! We will take the Nemesis, Tyche and Hebe kids and attack! Get into groups of four and spread into the forest to search for the enemy. Frank and Chris will search for the enemy flag. Hypnos kids! Take your stance wherever you think will be most effective and make the other team drowsy! Try not to target our team. I know there are only three of you, but do your best! Does everyone understand?"

We all lifted our shields in response.

"Jason, take your team and go!" Jason gathered his campers and took the flag to go hide it in the woods. There were about three minutes left before we were going to be hearing the signal horn. I walked over to Chris to discuss strategy.

"So, which way do we head? Straight through the middle or do we follow the beach down to their side of the forest?"

Chris laughed, "Man, how about you turn into a dragon and we fly overhead?"

"Well, yea, I guess that could work." I didn't usually like turning into a dragon because it took a lot of energy. "But instead of a dragon, which might give me away, how about a big bird?" He shrugged and smiled, "Whichever works for you." I returned his smile and was about to ask how high he would be ok with me going when the horn sounded.

"Red Team! Away!" At Clarisse's words, we all shouted and ran into the trees. I transformed into my bird form and Chris hopped on my back. As I took off he grabbed me a little tighter than was necessary. I guess he wasn't totally prepared. I got above the trees in less than a minute and the view, as always, was spectacular. The sun was still hanging on in the sky and the clouds were deep reds and oranges.

When I looked back at the ground I saw the Blue team advancing on the river that divided the team lines. Tyson, Percy's Cyclops brother, was knocking out our troops with a large hammer that reminded me a lot of Leo's hammer from his tool belt. Tyson was always fun to play CTF with because he just had fun knocking everyone out. Some Apollo campers were standing away from him trying to slow him down, and fortunately they didn't see me. I caught a glimpse of what could have been Piper and Malcolm, one of Annabeth's siblings, battling it out with someone who most likely was Clarisse. I felt Chris lean forward closer to where my ears would have been.

"Hey! There are archers in the trees! Look out!" I looked into the trees and sure enough there were about seven Apollo kids in the trees. I veered left and shot down into the trees away from the archers. I landed and Chris jumped off as quickly as he could. Turning back into myself I looked at him and laughed,

"Well, someone doesn't like heights." He gave me a glare and replied,

"Don't say a word to anyone, Zhang." I laughed in response to the very faint threat.

"C'mon, we should be headed in the right direction. I think the flag is straight ahead." He nodded and followed after me. We had been walking for less than a minute when a skeleton stopped me in my tracks. It brandished its sword and charged me.

"Chris, keep going. I'll follow once I've finished-" I was cut off as three more skeletons appeared.

"Yea, I'm not leaving you with three on your own." We managed to behead all three rather quickly. I half expected more of them to pop up. As we ventured nearer to the location of the flag, I got my wish. Thirteen skeletons later we reached a small clearing where the blue team's flag rested against a tree.

"This is too simple. Hazel and Nico are here somewhere." Chris nodded his agreement. Out of the trees a mist settled over the ground.

"Hazel?" I called out for her to see if she would answer me. I didn't really want to fight her Mist powers, but I would if I had to.

"Frank?" Chris sounded scared.

"It's me Hazel." I held my finger to my lips and gestured for Chris to hide behind a nearby tree. Hazel appeared as Chris made it to a good hiding spot.

"Frank! You made it." She didn't seem happy at all that I was there.

"Well, I'm here for the flag. So either I fight you or I fight Nico, wherever he's at." She looked slightly to her left and I barely had time to raise my weapon before Nico came out of the shadows. But he had an unconscious member of my team being dragged by two more skeletons behind him. That meant they didn't know where Chris was.

"Well, Frank, I guess it's just you against us." I weighed my options and then fainted as though I would attack Hazel and when she drew her Cavalry sword I grasped my dagger and threw it towards Nico. When I turned back to him he had a dagger in his leg.

"Nico! Frank, you threw your dagger at Nico!" Hazel looked between us and the look on her face was a combination of horror and anger. She still held her Calvary sword in a defensive stance. I took the opportunity and transformed back into a bird and went for the flag. She took off towards Nico and tended to his leg.

"Will! Will! Nico's hurt!" I turned to look back at Nico and was met with a hilt to the head. Hazel had tricked me with the Mist, but I was expecting it. She knew I'd never hurt Nico on purpose so I used that to my advantage and took the blow. Chris had stepped up behind whomever's sword hit me and knocked them out. "You ok, Frank?" I nodded and rubbed where the hilt had met my head.

"Let's get going before it's too late." I transformed back into a bird and once Chris and the blue team's flag were on my back I took off. From the trees I heard the Apollo kids shouting to one another,

"They got the flag! Shoot them down!"

We made it to the river before we ran into any real trouble. Percy was the last obstacle in our way. I knew it was Percy due to the fact that there was a wall of water nearly 50ft high. From this height I doubt Chris could see Percy's face, but I had bird vision. It was a mask of determination and concentration. He'd gotten a lot stronger and was able to control a lot of water with little effort now. The wall of water he'd brought up was probably not even making him break a sweat. I had one trick up my sleeve that I preferred not to use, but I might just have to. Percy must have seen me because the next thing I knew I was dodging arrows and streams of water coming off of Percy's water-wall. Chris had stopped trying to contain his screams and I winced as he gripped my feathers just a tad too tightly. That, on top of trying to keep him on my back while dodging the enemy's attacks, was definitely not making this the easiest thing I'd ever attempted.

I tried to fly higher than the wall, but Percy would just raise the wall with me. It was time to try my secret weapon. I'd only ever practiced doing it when I was alone with a target closer to lights out at Camp Jupiter, but this was a good scenario to give it a field test. I circled back around and dove towards Percy. He looked slightly surprised, but his concentration never gave way. He sent stream after stream of water at me and I dodged each one. At the last moment I pulled up and sent my projectile straight for Percy's head. Being a rather large bird, it was a rather large mess. Gross as it was, it had the intended effect. Percy shouted his disgust and he lost his control over the river's water.

As the wall fell, I soared over into my team's territory and made an ear piercing bird-caw. I took the route back to where I thought our flag would be. Once I had it in my sights I went to the ground. Chris was still screaming when I landed us in the forest next to a very surprised Jason.

"Frank! You got the flag?" Chris rolled off of me dropping the blue team's flag unceremoniously on the ground and began to kiss the earth.

"Oh, sweet ground! I'll never fly again!" I laughed along with the other demigods assembled and cheered when the horn sounded. It was probably one of the most fun things I'd done since becoming Praetor over a year and a half ago.