Woohoo! The reviews are finally coming in! Thanks a lot guys, I can probably update a lot more now.

I'm finally introducing my OC in this chapter! Aren't you happy? Seriously, I'm starting to regret using his name in the title, but oh well. Here's Chapter Five.

Grover and I got out of the boat and went to change for dinner. My clothes were burned and my muscles were exhausted, so I took a shower and changed into my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and shorts. Tyson had apparently decided to clean the entire cabin to match his fish ponies, so I waited until he was satisfied, then we went down to the pavilion for dinner.

Grover and Annabeth met us on the way, along with a small girl with tinged green eyes- Juniper, Grover's girlfriend. She gave me a smile and said hi, but I could tell she seemed a little tense, and I remembered what Grover had said about the wild going berserk because of the Hunters. Maybe it was affecting the wood nymphs too.

We walked into the pavilion and greeted Chiron, who was now in full centaur form, and Rachel, who stood timidly next to the centaur and was looking at everyone shyly. Most of the campers were already there, and they were talking and laughing and occasionally giving Rachel curious looks. They could obviously sense that this girl was not half-blood.

"Percy, I was wondering if Rachel could sit at your table tonight," said Chiron, with a look that told me he needed her to sit there.

"Sure, Chiron," I said. "Come on, Rachel."

I led her to the Poseidon table with Tyson. Soon, dryads appeared with platters of pizza and fresh fruit. When everyone had been served, people began moving to the brazier and scraping a portion of their food into the flames. I quietly explained to Rachel that it was an offering for the gods and then tossed in a small slice of pizza. Poseidon, help me with everything, I thought. Then I walked back over to my table.

"So, Rachel," I asked, "What did Chiron talk to you about?"

She looked at me like she was wondering whether she should tell me or not. Then she sighed. "He told me to keep a low profile while I was here."

"What?" I said. "Why?"

"Percy, did you see the way they're staring at me? People can already sense that I don't belong here, and if they were to find out that I'm…" She leaned in closer. "That I'm mortal, I'd become an outcast so fast I could be dead within days. They don't like a mortal in a place where they've thought only half-bloods can come."

I blinked. "Don't you think that's a little overdramatic?"

She jerked her head over to the Ares table. There, a dozen big, mean kids were shooting death glares at the back of her head and whispering to each other. Other kids were giving her suspicious looks, too, and it looked like Rachel was already being separated out.

I looked down. "I see," I said.

"All that to say, I've just got to lay low. Not talk much to anyone but you guys, stay out of other people's business, stuff like that."

"But Rachel should not have to do that," Tyson protested through a mouthful of pizza. "Rachel is nice!"

"Yeah, big guy," I replied. "Rachel is nice."

After everyone was done eating, Chiron got up and hit his hoof on the floor for silence. "A few announcements," he said, looking out at us. "First of all, a reminder that no purposeful damage of other cabins is permitted while staying here…"

"It's just a little charred," muttered Conner Stoll from the Hermes table. "We can fix it."

Chiron pretended like he didn't hear him. "Secondly, our first summer game of Capture the Flag is tonight…"

An explosion of cheering burst from the campers.

"But tonight, we were thinking of…ah…mixing things up a bit," said Chiron, and we quieted down a little.

"We understand that in the outside world, the weather is not always as pleasant as it is here at camp. Heroes need to learn to get their job done despite many obstacles. So, tonight, Capture the Flag will be played during a storm."

Mixed reactions burst from the campers: some excited, some grumpy. I didn't know what to think. I guess it would be fun to play in the rain. Sort of a new experience, and being the son of Poseidon, I would be stronger in the rain.

Chiron cleared his throat. "For those of you joining us tonight, the Athena cabin currently holds the laurels…"

More cheering, mostly from table six.

"So I'll expect the rest of you to play twice as hard!" Chiron concluded.

I clenched my fists. I hadn't done so hot last year with capture the flag, so I was eager to get my rep back up.

The conch horn sounded and two campers from the Athena and Haphaestus cabins charged into the pavilion carrying two huge banners. I was surprised, because Haphaestus rarely ever led a team. Then again, their cabin had grown significantly in the past year. I'd noticed at least four new campers at their table tonight. The god of the forges must have been feeling fatherly lately.

Athena's flag was silver and painted with a barn owl on an olive branch. Haphaestus's was copper-colored, with a huge welding hammer that was engulfed in flames.

The teams were announced: Athena was siding with Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, and Aphrodite. This may sound pretty good, but Poseidon's cabin was just Tyson and me, and the only camper left in Dionysus was a guy named Pollux. His half-brother had died last year in what was known as the Battle of the Labyrinth.

That left Haphaestus with Apollo, Ares, and Demeter. After everyone knew their sides, Chiron brandished his hands and the tables were covered in armor and weapons. I grabbed my bronze armor and began to put it on, when I noticed that next to Tyson's Cyclops-sized armor and weapons there was another, smaller suit of armor, probably used by a female.

Rachel stared at it in disbelief. "I'm supposed to…play?"

"Yes, child," said Chiron, walking up behind her. "I'd like you to play with Athena's side tonight. It will be a good experience for you."

"But, Chiron I'm not…" She lowered her voice. "I'm not even a half-blood, remember? How am I supposed to play?"

"Just do your best, child," said Chiron, giving her a strange look before walking off. Rachel turned to look at me in horror. I shrugged. "Just give a shot, I guess." I helped her get her armor on, and then we went to stand with the rest of the blue team.

Annabeth called us forward. We cheered and ran towards the woods. The red team ran in the opposite direction.

We placed our flag in a ditch in the South Woods that was covered in tree roots and other things like that. It increased chances of a surprise attack, but it also made getting out with the flag a lot harder than usual.

Annabeth tapped me on the shoulder. "Percy, you take offense tonight. Okay?"

"Really? Me?" I asked. Annabeth didn't ask me to captain much. This was going to be fun.

She nodded. "Lead a small ambush around the perimeter of the woods and try to surprise them. I'll send a scouting party ahead of you that will also serve as your bodyguards if you get the flag."

"Okay," I said slowly; it seemed sensible to me. Annabeth hurried off to assign more jobs.

I looked over to Half-Blood Hill. Chiron was standing on top, doing a strange incantation with his hands and yelling something in Ancient Greek. As I watched, he put his hands down and yelled a final word. Instantly, I heard the rumble of thunder over our heads. The storm was here.

The sound of the conch horn rang through the woods. We cheered and about twenty campers charged into the enemy's territory. They would serve as our initial attack wave.

Annabeth sent the scouting party of Silena Beauregard and three other campers ahead of us to tell us where the flag was and who was guarding it. In my group was Travis and Connor Stoll, Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, a guy named Matthew from Hermes, a couple of Aphrodite girls, and Tyson. We gave the scouting party two minutes head start, then we dove into the woods after them.

We decided to take the right edge, because there was less fighting going on there. We began moving quietly along. I held Riptide tightly in my right hand and Tyson's Shield was on my left. Tyson gripped his sword, which looked like a knife in his big hands. We would have been a lot more silent if the big guy wasn't constantly stepping on tree branches or bursting out talking, but we were making good time.

Something small hit my helmet. I looked up. Rain was beginning to fall from the gray storm clouds above us. Within minutes, it was a downpour. Everyone else got soaked, but my hereditary waterproof magic made me okay. I was right about the rain strengthening me; instantly, my senses opened up and I began moving more quickly, strength surging through my limbs.

We met Silena and the others behind a huge oak tree. I could hear fighting going on from the other side.

Silena delivered the bad news. "The flag is stationed directly on the other side of the creek, and it's lined with guards on either side," she said. "The two guarding the flag are Beckendorf and Clarisse."

I gulped. This was not going to be easy. Beckendorf and Clarisse were a couple of the biggest campers out here, and I knew from personal experience that both were good fighters.

"Okay," I told them. "You guys take the surprise attack and try to clear an opening in the guards. Pollux and I will go in and try to get the flag. We'll yell at you if we do, and you guys can come and shield us. Got it?"

Everyone nodded. "When I give the signal," I said. We spread out to our various hiding places in the woods. The guards on the creek didn't seem too focused. They were talking to each other or otherwise trying to get out of the rain, and I was surprised Clarisse didn't yell at them to pay attention. Nevertheless, it was a good time to attack.

I slowly I raised my hand and pointed at the creek. "GO! GO! GO!" Travis screamed, and the campers charged into the creek.

I heard the clanging of metal as Clarisse screamed an order at her campers and they began fighting. But we had the upper hand because of our surprise attack. Pollux and I lay low to the ground, hidden in the underbrush. I motioned to him and slowly rose and charged quickly through the creek. Thankfully, no one came for us.

We headed straight for the flag. Clarisse was still barking at her campers, but when she saw us, her eyes narrowed under her helmet and she spat, "Jackson! You're dead, punk!"

A fork of lightning flashed overhead. Clarisse lunged at me with her sword. I parried her strike. "Nice to see you too, Clarisse."

She growled and swung at me again. I blocked the blow with my shield and slammed the butt of my sword into her chest. She stumbled back with a grunt, dazed, but only for a few seconds. I seized my chance and ran for the flag. Pollux had Beckendorf distracted, but he saw me and grimaced. He hit Pollux clean across the head with his shield and lunged for me as Clarisse got up and came at me too.

Oh, great.

I ducked as Clarisse swung her sword, then I came up to parry Beckendorf's javelin. I twisted my sword to try and wrench it out of his grip, but he was faster. He pulled away from me and allowed Clarisse to slam me with her shield. I fell to the ground, hopelessness beginning to cloud my thoughts. At this rate, I was never going to get the fla-

The flag. Where was the flag?

Where it had been a second ago was a small hole in the ground. Nothing more. I glanced over to where Pollux was trying in vain to stand. But if he didn't have the flag, then who…?

"Percy!" I heard a voice call somewhere to my left. I looked through the sheet of rain. There, holding the flag awkwardly, was Rachel.

"Rachel?" I asked in disbelief. "But how…"

I was cut short as I dodged Beckendorf's javelin yet again. Then I saw Clarisse's dark, angry eyes lock on the armored red-haired girl. She understood in an instant.

"Is this what I'm supposed to do with it?" Rachel asked uncertainly.

"YES!" I screamed. "RUN!"

I yelled for my teammates to fall back right as Clarisse cried, "AFTER HER!"

With cries we charged after Rachel as she dove into the forest. She was surprisingly fast, and with us to defend her, she reached the boundary in no time.

With a cheer, we charged across the boundary. Our teammates saw that we had won, and they cheered and dropped their weapons while the red team slumped in defeat. The cheering continued from our team but died when they saw who had gotten the flag. People began murmuring in confusion, and I realized they weren't really looking at Rachel. They were looking at the flag. Normally, when a person captures another team's flag, the flag magically changes to represent that person's cabin. But this flag had remained a Haphaestus flag.

"Who is she?" someone said.

"Whose cabin is she in?" someone else said.

"Don't you see?" an Ares camper said accusingly. "She doesn't even have an Olympian parent!"

"This is bad," murmured Annabeth, who had just appeared next to me holding her Yankees cap and was staring at Rachel with a mixture of worry and grudging.

"She doesn't belong in this game," the Ares camper continued, pointing at Rachel. "She doesn't belong anywhere in this camp!"

"Darrell…" Chiron said warningly.

The camper ignored him. "We have to send her out," he said, "We can't keep her here, because she's m-"

But his words was drowned out by a terrible crash of thunder. We clapped our hands over our ears as the ground shook with the force of it. Then Tyson cried, "Look! On the hill!"

Everyone turned to look, right as a streak of lightning forked across the sky. In the flash of light, I saw the silhouette of a human figure, making its way down the hill.

For a second, we all stared. Then Delios, an Apollo camper, raised his bow and said, "Open fire, Chiron?"

"No!" said Chiron sharply. "We must go investigate. Forward, heroes!"

We all jogged across the valley toward the figure. Rachel had tears streaming down her face, and Grover and Juniper were patting her comfortingly. The Ares camper, Darrell, kept glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. I wanted to punch him, but I had bigger things to worry about at the moment.

We got about ten feet from the figure and stopped, next to the Big House. The figure continued walking towards us. I could now see the figure more clearly. It was a boy, maybe a year or so younger than me. His blonde hair was plastered to his face, and he had so many cuts and scrapes on his body he looked like he had just been mauled by several vicious kittens.

He walked up until he was directly in front of me, breathing hard and staring at the ground. Then he looked straight into my eyes. His eyes were vivid blue- somehow familiar, but I couldn't remember why.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then he slowly opened his mouth. "Help," he said faintly, and then he dropped to the ground as thunder rumbled and lightning continued to flash in the sky above.