Chapter 7:

Lee Fletcher Strangles a Tree

The red plume on Will's helmet flopped backwards as he straightened up from the strategy meeting with his team to crack his back. As the counsellor for the cabin leading tonight's game, he was in charge of designating campers where they were meant to go. He got the Athena cabin – who was mercifully on his team – to get to work on a strategy.

"The blue team has both Percy and Nico. That's a fair amount of power right there," Malcom was saying to Will, the rest of the red team surrounding them, waiting for orders.

"I can take Percy," Jason offered, his face in a gleeful smile. Will nodded to him.

"Do it," he replied. "Distract him or take him in, whatever you can."

Jason, Percy and Nico were known through Chiron's as the Big Three – ironic, considering their cabins. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were the 'eldest gods' of Greek Mythology. Jason and Percy had been going to Camp Half-Blood since they were little kids, and were so skilled with weapons and world knowledge they even taught younger students. That didn't stop them being idiots, though.

Nico was a little powerhouse unto himself, Will decided. Small, fast, and with the ability to almost become one with the shadows. Every team wanted him for Capture the Flag when they played, especially on weapons nights.

Jason nodded, a grin on his face.

"I'll distract him alright," he promised. "Time I got my revenge for the Torpedo Thing."

Will almost asked. Almost. Then he remembered this was Percy Jackson and Jason Grace he was talking about. He closed his mouth.

"Leo Valdez is on the blue team as well," Malcom continued, sweeping a token that represented the Hephaestus cabin across his strategy board. So far the tokens for Apollo, Hecate, Zeus, Ares, Athena and Nemesis were on their side of the board. The blue side had Poseidon, Hades, Hephaestus, Hermes and Aphrodite. There was still a bunch of tokens on the edge of the board, waiting for Malcom to put them down.

"We'll need to look out for him. He's been working long hours in the forge this week; something for tonight definitely. We don't know what it might be so keep your guard up."

Everyone watched Malcom sit up on the ground and look up at them all.

"Ares can handle Leo," he told Will. The Ares campers cheered, raising their fists. "Whatever he's cooked up can't be armed, so they should be able to take it, easy. Jason can take some of Athena if he wants, to tackle Percy."

Jason nodded.

"I'll bring them," he said. "The sooner we kick Jackson's ass the better."

"The last single opponent we need to bump is Nico." Malcom pointed to the Hades tile. "He'll be the biggest problem for the defenders if we don't find him."

"We'll take di Angelo," a voice from behind Will said. The Apollo counsellor looked around to see Lee Fletcher with his hand in the air.

"Good idea," Malcom said, turning back to his strategy board. "Apollo cabin is in charge of finding Nico. As soon as you get him, bring him back here. We can't let him loose or this game is as good as lost." The Athena boy looked up at Will. "You okay with that?"

Will was trying to remember how to breathe properly, and he barely managed a nod.

"Yeah," he croaked. "Nico. Got it."

"He's got it, alright," Lee whispered behind him. Will aimed a kick backwards and it hit Lee's calf. Will was unrepentant of the pained huff he got in response. The idiot deserved it.

Malcom then went on to instruct the rest of the cabins what they would be doing. Something about the Hecate boys taking a tree-top route and fireflies. Will wasn't really listening. He briefly wondered why Malcom wanted fireflies before his thoughts immediately turned back to Nico. They were purely strategic thoughts, mind you. Totally strategic. He was simply thinking of kidnapping Nico. See? Strategic. That was the whole point of the Apollo cabin going after the single Hades camper. Will told himself he wasn't thinking of kidnapping Nico away from the entire game for a make-out session in the Hades cabin. Of course not.

His whole situation was very Hades-esque, once he started thinking of it. Here he was, unrequitedly falling harder and harder for an unattainable beauty and someone was telling him he could go abduct said beauty from where they were supposed to be and take them away. It was Hades and Persephone all over again, except Will was Hades and Nico was Persephone. That didn't work in his mind because Nico hated flowers and Will didn't live underground. Plus, Malcom didn't resemble Zeus in any way. But still. The concept was the same.

"Okay," Malcom finally said, snapping Will of out of his Hades revere. "We're ready. As soon as the conch shell blows-"

A deafeningly low and loud blare of sound suddenly erupted through the woods, interrupting Malcom.

"GO!" he finished anyway. That was the conch shell blowing. You had to take what you got, Will supposed.

Rolling his shoulders, Will shouted once to the Apollo cabin before leading them into the forest. They had a Hades kid to find.

Said Hades kid was proving even more elusive than they expected.

Will could hear the sounds of campers tackling each other and even the obnoxious yelling of Percy and Jason going at it on the other end of the woods. They were that loud. Will didn't even want to know how they managed to involve the stream in their fight because listening to the water slap around was enough to make him wince.

"What the Tartarus could they be doing over there?" Michael whispered to him, hefting the small coil of rope that was resting on his shoulder. Will shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied quietly. "But I have a feeling I'll be treating it back in the infirmary when this is over."

"If you want this to be over," Lee growled, "quit yapping and help us find your Juliet, Solace. This is getting ridiculous."

Will passionately denied his face heating up at the mention of Nico being 'his Juliet'.

"Can it, Fletcher," he hissed back. "You think I want to go and treat those two water-smacking idiots?"

"You're avoiding the task at hand," Lee told him. "Why can't you just go get on your knees and preach some Romeo shit? That should bring di Angelo out."

Will kicked his surrogate brother again.

"Yeah, bring him out to laugh at me," he said angrily. "Just shut up, Lee."

"I'd deny laughing at you," a sudden, new voice said from above the Apollo boys. "But that would be lying."

Will shot around and squinted up at the tree where the sound had come from.

"Nico?" he asked. There was a flap of shadows before the answer.

"No, it's Caspar the Friendly Ghost, Solace– of course it's me."

Beside Will, Michael started uncoiled the rope. Lee nodded at the other boy in approval. Will didn't notice – he just wanted to find Nico.

"Where are you?" he asked the dark air. There was another subtle move in the shadows before Nico replied, his voice changing spots.

"Good idea," Nico replied sarcastically. "Give my position away to people trying to find me."

"Uh," another boy, Austin, said. He was the one who'd gotten his hair turned green by the Hermes cabin. "You just did that anyway."

Nico scoffed.

"But do you know exactly where I am?" he replied. Before anyone could guess he said, "No, didn't think so."

"Come on, di Angelo," Lee grumbled, looking around at all the shadows and holding up his fists. "Don't hide like a coward; fight me."

"Do you want to get beaten up by someone shorter than you?" came the response. Despite the moonlight not giving the best view, Will saw Lee's cheeks darken.

"I can take you," the angry Apollo boy spat. Nico gave a chuckle before a cold wind told the group he'd changed spots again. Damn, he was good at hiding.

"The only thing being taken is your flag," the Hades kid said.

Lee roared and lunged for the place Nico's voice seemed to be coming from. Will watched in horror as Lee's hands seemed to close around something suspiciously the same size as a human neck. Lee started throttling whatever he'd grabbed with all his strength.

"Jeez," Nico said again, this time apparently behind Will. "What did that tree ever do to you?"

Will sighed in relief. Lee turned on him and poked his chest.

"Whose side are you on?" he accused. Will put up his hands.

"Calm down, Lee," he told his sibling. "We can't catch Nico if you're acting crazy."

"And I can't catch your flag if I'm here talking to you guys, so-" Another ruffle of shadows "-Bye!"

Will pointed in the direction of their flag, watching as a Nico-shaped being phased in and out of visibility as he flicked through the darkness.

"Let's go!" he told his cabin. "Now or never."

They all ran after Will, who locked his eyes on Nico. Sassy little shit, Will thought, an amused smile appearing on his face. Will saw Lee scowling out of the corner of his eye.

I will not lose this game to a sarcastic ass, Will decided, running faster. Even if he is totally adorable.

So apparently Capture the Flag is now a two chapter thing because Nico wanted to be sassy and ruin my plot. Thanks a lot Nico, ya little shit!

Nico POV next up. We need to see the blue team side of things.

I know this sucks too, I'm sorry. It's late at night and I'm tired and don't feel so good but I knew I needed to give you a chapter. I'll make up for it next time bcs more funny things coming up. You can probably see where this is going anyway.

Jasmine Out!