AN: So it's been a few weeks but here we are with the next chapter, I hope you all like it! The response so far has been brilliant, I really appreciate it! I hope you all continue to support the story, and that it gains more traction as it progresses.
Thanks for reading, and for all the reviews. As ever if you have any questions feel free to PM me, I'm usually good at answering those!
Also please check out my other stories if you have the time, there is quite an eclectic section on my bio.
Please do enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson etc.
Betaed by Arch_Angel and Silver
( - )
(Last Time)
Thalia frowned in response, her electric blue eyes piercing his own, before her lips twitched upwards.
Shaking her head she replied. "I don't know how the hell you pulled that off, but next time, the next time I am beating you!"
With that said Percy held his left hand out for her to take, his blade now hung limply at his side, distantly aware as he did so of all the shouting and cheering coming from the raised stands that surrounded the arena.
Taking his proffered hand Thalia found herself pulled to her feet, stumbling forward into Percy's arms as she did so.
"You fought well, Thalia," Percy said as he looked at the girl. "You almost defeated me back there!"
( - )
Chapter 6
( - )
(With Percy)
"So, are you ready for this?" Thalia asked, her electric blue eyes flicking sideways toward him. As she finished buckling a new Celestial Bronze breastplate over her chest.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Percy replied, a slight smile on his face as he slipped his Stygian Iron cuirass on. His nimble fingers danced across the straps as he adjusted them for comfort with practised ease. after which he strapped on his Celestial Bronze greaves and bracers. "It's just a run-of-the-mill game of Capture the Flag."
"Yeah, but this is a game of capture the flag which is played by Demigods." Thalia shot back, picking up a crested Celestial Bronze helmet from the table in front of her. Before she put it on, covering her short, spiky black hair from view. The padded interior of the helmet allowed it to fit snugly on her head. As she started messing about with the neck strap. Her face peered out from the opening in the hoplite-like helmet.
"Melodramatic much…" Percy replied dryly, pulling on his own identical Celestial Bronze helmet. The bronze coloured; bracers, greaves, and helmet. All clashing with his black cuirass, hoodie, trousers, and boots.
Smirking as she heard that, Thalia reached out and ruffled the crest of red-dyed horsehair on the helmet's peak.
"Stop that," Percy grumbled, trying to ward her off as he did so.
"Then start taking this seriously." Thalia retorted, a smirk still on her face as she ceased her previous actions. "We wear armour for this game for a reason, you know. It can get brutal, especially when we are fighting against the Hunters!"
As she said this, both Thalia and Percy looked over at the silver-clad girls. All of whom were calmly, almost bored, stringing their bows, sharpening their silver knives and swords. Or strapping on light armour.
None of them looked worried, if anything the confidence they exuded. It gave off the impression that their victory in this upcoming wargame was by this point, in their minds, a full-gone conclusion.
Then again, considering that the Hunters had not lost a single game for the last few centuries. Maybe their confidence was not all that surprising.
"Just look at them, acting all cocky," Thalia growled under her breath, as she extended her retractable spear and jabbed the spiked end into the ground fiercely. "It's time to end their streak and show them just how weak they are compared to us!"
"Why is it you've got such a personal grudge against them again?" Percy replied absentmindedly, his attention no longer on the pretty daughter of Zeus beside him but instead on the younger, Bianca Di Angelo, the daughter of Hades.
The girl looked marginally different than she had just a day before. She seemed to stand taller, and already her previous skinniness was giving way to muscle, most noticeably on her bare arms. Along with that, she seemed to hold herself more confidently than she had before. Her black hair was tied back in an identical plait to Zoë's as opposed to how it had used to cover her face. On top of which, like the other Hunters, she also seemed to exude a very faint silver glow.
From what he could see, the Blessing of Artemis worked fast.
Not that this surprised him. After all, he had seen the effects of the Blessing he had received from Melinoe and how it had changed him both in terms of physical changes and his abilities.
That said, as he looked at the girl he couldn't help but ponder if a god's Blessing affected a person's psyche, or mentality as well as their bodies.
Bianca had just lost her brother, literally the other night.
With her, like everyone having presumed the little brat dead, as opposed to where he truly was; down in the Underworld with his daddy.
Despite this though she did not look crushed or upset. There were no dark bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, nor any redness to her sclera from tears that she might have shed. If anything, the girl looked happier now than she had before, back when her brother had been with her and alive.
It was odd, even for someone as jaded as him.
The only possible thing, he could pick out which might allude to her being a bit upset about losing her brother, was that she seemed to stick close to the beautiful, but entirely stuck-up, princess-like Lieutenant of the Hunt, Zoë Nightshade.
Annoyingly close.
So close in fact that already he thought any potential plan he might have had about squirrelling her away during the upcoming capture the flag game was scuppered. Not that he had any real desire to do such a thing anyway. After all, were a Hunter of Artemis and himself to suddenly go missing at the same time... Well, it did not take a genius to work out what kind of assumptions people would come up with. Especially the bigoted Hunters of Artemis.
Personally, he liked his current freedom, and as such the last thing he wanted was to be hunted across the world by a vengeful Goddess of the Hunt and her Girl Scout group. Nor did he like the idea of him being listed as persona non grata by Camp Half-Blood, which would alienate him from one of the few large groups of Demigods out there. It was just not a smart move.
No, it was probably for the best that he came up with a proper plan, and only took Bianca Di Angelo when the time was right.
"Well like you say it's personal. I've already told you as much as I'm willing to, so drop it!" Thalia suddenly said, her voice breaking him out of his thoughts as he sent her a questioning look.
"What?" Percy asked, ignoring the Hunters now as he instead looked over at Thalia and the two dozen Demigods armouring up behind her.
"Look, I like you, but I've only just met you. I'm not about to start spewing my whole life story to you on a whim. Yeah, I have a grudge against the Hunters already, but the full reason why..., well, it's personal, ok!" Thalia forged on, her brow noticeably furrowing.
"Oh, oh yeah, ok, yeah that's fine," Percy replied, quickly catching on to what the girl was talking about as he did so.
He'd been so focused on the Hunters that he had tuned Thalia and everything else around him out.
"Good," Thalia nodded curtly, brandishing her silver Aegis shield. "Now arm up. I'd suggest grabbing a shield and using one of your swords. Against the Hunters you'll need it, they mainly focus on long-ranged attacks. Don't let your guard down when you do get in combat with them though. They might focus on using bows but some of those girls are centuries if not millennia old, and so are pretty handy with knives, swords, and spears too."
"Noted," Percy nodded, looking down at the table in front of him and the array of armour pieces, shields, and weaponry present. Several other Demigods, most of whose name's he didn't know, filtered passed him and helped themselves. Seeing this, he shrugged and did so as well.
Scanning the table a slight smile spread across Percy's face as he spotted an English longbow complete with a spiked Celestial bronze tip on each end, and a crest of a golden sun on the main body, just lying on the table. No doubt a leftover weapon from a long-dead son of Apollo.
Picking up the bow and grabbing a bound-up bunch of blunt-headed arrows he nodded a plan already in mind for how he would approach the upcoming wargame.
"I'll go attacking with a long-range weapon," Percy said, stringing the bow with practised ease and giving it a practice drawing. The longbow was probably a two hundred an-odd pounder. But despite the weight, he was able to draw it to its fullest and safest extent with ease. "I'll probably go dual wielding my swords later if I have to."
"Wait, you're an archer?" Thalia asked incredulously.
"That's where my main talent lies, yep." Percy nodded, ceasing his previous actions and resting the bow on his shoulder as he did so. "Though as I'm sure you noticed I am pretty good in close combat too!"
Thalia's expression turned sour at the reminder of their recent spar.
"Hey, are you two ready yet?" Theo suddenly interrupted, as the slightly pudgy boy bounced up to the two of them clad in his own Celestial Bronze armour and helmet., with his leaf-shaped blade in one hand and a plain, round shield in the other. "Chiron said we'll be starting soon."
"Yeah, almost." Thalia nodded, tearing her gaze away from Percy as she did so.
"Hey, that's a bow!" Theo suddenly said as he goggled at the bow in Percy's hands.
"Yes, yes it is," Percy replied mildly.
"But, well, I thought…." Theo trailed off, looking awkwardly between Percy and Thalia, his mind no doubt going back to the recent spar too.
"Right enough talk, gather everyone up, Theo, we need to come up with a game plan." Thalia interrupted swiftly, catching both of their attention. Her electric blue eyes momentarily flicked over to the nearby gathered group of Hunters as she did so.
All of whom, nearly a score and a half had huddled up in a group and were no doubt going through their game plan, even as Thalia prepared to share her plan for the game ahead.
From what he could see, the Hunters might not look like they wanted to play at the moment. But that didn't mean that they wouldn't be bringing their A-game when they did play.
"If only Annabeth was here, she was the one good at coming up with strategies," Thalia grumbled under her breath. Before she froze, her already pale skin going even paler, even as a sick look crossed her face.
Looking sideways at Theo, Percy, could see that he too looked a bit pasty. From what he could tell, the two of them were pretty close to the blonde girl, Annabeth. So much so that even now, a day later they were affected by her death.
It was odd. Not the kind of reaction he expected, especially considering that they were both seasoned Demigods. After all they, unlike Bianca, should know that death walked hand in hand with the life of a Demigod. There was a reason only a small number of them made it to one of the Camps, and an even smaller number made it to adulthood.
"Sorry," Thalia muttered to Theo. "I'm still not used to it. The idea of her not being here, of her being missing."
'You mean dead,' Percy thought to himself cynically, forcing down his desire to roll his eyes at their obstinate refusal to accept facts. Their friend was dead, she was gone. They just needed to deal with it.
"I-It's fine," Theo replied quietly.
"So, a game plan," Percy said clapping his hands together and pitching his voice louder so that the rest of their group heard. "Let's all gather around and hash out what we're going to do!"
Hearing him the rest of the Demigods gathered around; Thalia, Theo and himself, some of them sending the nearby Hunters the stink eye as if warning them not to eavesdrop. Much to the Hunter's obvious amusement, as they looked over at them from the other side of the clearing. Noticeably Chiron and a group of Satyrs and Nature Spirits were milling about in between the two groups, separating them, even as they readied themselves to invigilate the upcoming wargame.
( - )
(Sometime Later)
Perched in the boughs of a large tree about fifteen minutes later. Percy, kept his strung bow ready, an arrow already nocked and ready to be released as he waited for the conch horn to sound and for the game to begin.
Looking out at the darkening woodland around him, he couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement for the game to come run through him.
Internally he knew he shouldn't be getting excited over some mock wargame. Especially considering the adventures and missions he often went on. Most of which were far more dangerous and exciting than this heavily monitored game of Capture the Flag was going to be.
It was probably for this same reason that the Hunters themselves looked so unenthusiastic. After all, compared to the real-life trials of an active Demigod, this game was tame.
Despite this though he did still feel excited. It might be because he loved a good fight, or it might be because he got to act like a teenager for once. Something he didn't often get to do, or at least not in such a setting as fighting in a wargame alongside other Demigods.
Honestly, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he was having fun and that he wanted to win. Partly because he hated losing, and partly because he wanted to see the expression on Zoë Nightshade's face when her several century-long winning streak was irrevocably broken.
Yes, a bit of pettiness did come into play. He had heard what they were saying about him before, during, and after his spar with Thalia.
Smirking to himself in anticipation of the angry look on the dark-haired girl's face, he shifted on the branch. His grip on his bow tightened as his eagerness for the game to begin started to grow inside of him.
"So, Percy right, are you any good with that bow?" Michael, a nearby son of Athena asked from the branch he was perched on.
"Yeah ghost boy, are you sure you can hit anything with that?" Will, a golden-haired, blue-eyed son of Apollo asked from Percy's other side.
Both boys carried curved bows of their own as they, and five other children of Apollo, along with two children of Hermes, two unclaimed, and the son of Athena sat quietly in the trees. All of them had spread out in small groups over a one-hundred-meter stretch of forest and were waiting for the game to begin.
"You don't have to worry about me," Percy smiled, flashing the pair of them a confident smirk. "I can hit a bullseye from two hundred fifty paces, and that is on a bad day."
Will Solace scoffed at that, his grip on his bow noticeably tightening.
Michael however just sent him a curious look. "Well, hopefully, you're as good with a bow as you are with a sword."
"Just wait and see," Percy replied smoothly, unperturbed by the doubt he could hear in the other teen's voice. His current longbow might not be as powerful as his Stygian Iron compound bow. But the six-foot-plus long longbow had more power than most of the other bows being used tonight, and that probably included the majority of the Hunter's bows as well.
On top of which, if he used a bodkin-tipped Celestial Bronze arrow as opposed to the blunt, non-lethal flat-headed arrows he was using at the moment. Then he knew he could shoot an arrow through a fully armoured Demigod at least one hundred and fifty paces.
Truly, in the hands of a skilled marksman. A Demigod marksman with supernatural strength for that matter. A perfectly crafted longbow was on par with a mortal sniper rifle.
Ok, he would admit he had just pulled that comparison out of his arse. But still, a bow in the hands of some who could use it to its fullest extent was an incredibly deadly weapon.
The scores of Demigods, mortals and monsters he had sniped down from afar were evidence enough of that.
Smiling to himself at that thought for a moment. Percy soon found himself unable to let his mind wander any further, as moments later the sound of Chiron's conch horn echoed through the woods.
The echoing, melodic sound of the horn was then quickly followed by the roar of some of the Campers on the forest ground as Thalia charged forward, leading five other Demigods behind her.
Theo meanwhile remained back at the flag, guarding the position along with four other Demigods. Whilst Percy and the eleven other archers waited spread out in the trees overhead.
This of course left seven other Demigods unaccounted for. Or at least it would for those that didn't know the plan, and so didn't know that those two teams had split into a group of four and a group of three and were looping around in a pincer movement as they advanced on Zeus's fist, the Hunter's basecamp.
The bigger group, he knew, was being led by a bad-tempered daughter of Ares, Clarisse something or other. Whilst the smaller group was being led by a quiet, yet friendly, daughter of Demeter called Katie... something.
"Alright, here they come!" Will, the leader of the archers called out. The other archers in the trees passed his words down to those that hadn't already nocked arrows, even as the others drew their bows and took aim. "Aim for the flashes of silver in the woods. The Hunters are fast, but with Thalia acting as a distraction we should be able to catch a few by surprise and thin their numbers."
Nodding as he heard the teens' words, Percy locked onto a fast-moving silver figure. One that danced through the trees ahead of him, moving to intercept Thalia's group. His unnaturally sharp gaze easily picked her out through the shadowy trees.
Releasing a breath, he let go of the string. The flight of the arrow brushed lightly against his fingers as he watched it explode forth from his bow.
His eyes glowed gold as he drew on his original Demigod powers and looked through the darkening trees, with the falling night fading away as his vision adjusted until, for Percy at least, it was like broad daylight once again.
A moment later and he was heartened to see his arrow strike one of the running huntresses down with brutal force. The fast, agile moving huntress ran headlong into the arrow's path. Following the movements he had predicted she would take until with an inaudible sound, she was blown clear off her feet as the blunt arrow struck her in the chest.
Her armour and her Blessing probably lessened the force of the blow and staved off any potential broken bones or internal damage. But it didn't deaden the impact completely. Which was why she was rocketed off of her feet and sent flying back into a nearby tree. Her head noiselessly bounced off of the trunk as she then collapsed to the ground like a puppet that had had its strings cut.
"Nice shot!" Michael said, his arrow missing and rebounding off of a trunk as close to a dozen rapidly moving silver figures rushed Thalia's smaller group, with several silver arrows rained down from the other side of the forest as they rushed the campers.
"It was alright," Will chipped in grudgingly, as his golden arrow struck another of the Hunters, only with noticeably less force than Percy's had.
Not that that stopped a nearby dryad from popping out of a tree nearby. No doubt to tell the Hunter in question that she was 'dead'.
"Focus," Percy replied, another arrow already on his bowstring as he pulled it back, aimed and loosed in a single fluid motion that lasted no longer than a few seconds.
His next arrow hurtled forward with the same force as before, only to blast a Hunter once again off their feet, even as the group of now eight, soon to be seven, erupted from out of the trees and engaged with Thalia's group.
The moment before they engaged Thalia's spear erupted in lightning, and a barely audible shout left her lips as she raised her silver shield making several of the Hunters flinch back. After which, she and the two of her companions that had survived the Hunter's volley of arrows, engaged the Hunters in combat.
Both groups clashed together in a fierce melee. The kind that only the bravest, boldest and most confident of archers would dare to fire into.
"Everyone, break off. We need to move now! Group B go and support Clarisse's group, Group C go and support Katie's team, Group A prepare to fall back!" Will called out, two groups of four archers leaping down from their perches and sprinting into the forests as they moved to their assigned duties.
Whilst, Percy, Michael, Will, and another child of Apollo, Alan or something, remained in the same area.
Though notably the three Campers all leapt down from their perches and sought other places to shoot from, even as silver arrows started lancing down from the foliage all around them. A couple of the silver arrows took two of the retreating archers in Group B out from behind.
"Percy," Michael hissed from down below.
"Go, I'll provide a distraction," Percy hissed back. Not even looking at the golden-haired son of Apollo as he instead shot three arrows, one after another, into the melee taking place a hundred and fifty-odd yards in front of him.
Two of his shots hit one of the huntresses as they knocked one of Thalia's companions to the ground. The first blow hit her in the leg and by her cry of pain, fractured something. whilst the other hit her in her lightly armoured chest and sent her hurtling to the ground.
Another one 'dead'.
His last arrow meanwhile only got a glancing hit on another Huntress. Though it ended with the same result as it knocked her off balance. This allowed Thalia to swipe the sword-wielding girl's legs out from under her with her spear and then finish her with a zap of lightning and a downward, nonlethal jab.
"Come on, you heard him, Michael," Will called out, not giving Percy a second glance as he instead ran into the trees, his brothers following him.
"You're not good at following strategies are you!?" Michael grumbled resignedly from down below. Before without waiting for a response he followed, Will.
"I call it improvising," Percy called out after him, getting a two-fingered salute and a wry grin from the boy for his trouble. Without looking at his retreating 'comrades' he turned back to the trees the Hunters were hiding in and released two more arrows.
The two arrows shot well over the heads of those fighting down below and into the surrounding trees. One of them missed entirely as it got lost in one of the tree's foliage. The other arrow though landed, and with a shaking of leaves, it un-lodged another silver figure from the branch and sent said silver figure falling to the ground.
Only for the silver figure to agilely land and roll out of the fall without any issue. Not that that stopped her from being told she was 'dead' by yet another dryad that emerged from the same tree she had just fallen out of.
Gripping his bow tightly in his hand, Percy sent a single cursory glance over to where Thalia was still fighting. The daughter of Zeus still going strong. Despite it just being her and one other against two sword-wielding Huntresses, and a tall, muscly spear-wielding Huntress, Phoebe, from what he could remember.
Grinning at this, Percy, jumped down from his perch his body going invisible as he did so. Or at least everything that wasn't covered in armour made of divine metal went invisible. The glow from which his little trick of bending the light around him couldn't hide.
Fortunately, though, the rapidly darkening forest did an admirable enough job of hiding him. So much so that the fact he was not completely invisible, was not too much of a bother.
Shifting to the side, Percy, avoided several silver arrows as they began to rain down around him. The huntresses on the other side of the forest were no doubt all focused on the spot he was in and were likely trying to take down the sniper, i.e. him.
Not that it did them much good as he, instead of running away, ran toward them. His body shifted to and fro as he used the trees for cover. Occasionally stopping long enough to unloose an arrow at the tree line or to dodge a silver arrow sent back at him.
Following this tactic, he managed to get two more 'kills' by the time he came upon the place where Thalia was still fighting, now just her against Phoebe. The five Campers that had supported her all had been 'killed'. Along with six of the seven Huntresses that had made it far enough to try and intercept her.
Their tactics, Percy mused, didn't make sense, or at least not from where he was standing.
Ignoring this thought for the moment, he instead dodged to the side. Avoiding another silver arrow, after which he dodged again, nipping behind a tree as two more arrows slammed into the trunk, shattering bark, before bouncing off.
Nocking a new arrow, he darted out from behind the tree and unloosed another shot. His golden eyes gleamed as he saw through the darkness, and focused in on the three Huntresses he could see lurking in the trees some fifty yards from him.
Dodging to the side again he avoided another silver arrow, even as his return arrow took one of his attackers through the shoulder. Only for him to be taken by surprise as a second arrow hurtled towards him.
Drawing on his Demigod abilities, he suddenly felt a tugging in his gut. After which the blunted arrow hit him in the head. Or at least it would have, had it not gone straight through his suddenly intangible body.
Grinning at his success, he was still a bit shaky with the new abilities he had gained courtesy of Melinoe. He grabbed one of his three remaining arrows. His body becoming visible once again, as with his faintly glowing armour his invisibility was not that effective, or at least not effective against sharp-eyed huntresses.
Pulling the string of his longbow back, he let loose his arrow at the same time that he exhaled. The arrow struck the spot where a huntress had just been. Only for the Huntress he had been aiming at to have already moved, as she learned from the mistakes of her fellows, with her partner doing the same.
Narrowing his eyes, he bit back a snarl of irritation.
The Hunters, it seemed, had now realised that they were not hunting someone that couldn't fight back or that they could take by surprise like they were used to. But were instead hunting a bigger, better predator.
Pushing down his instinctive annoyance, he instead grinned at his admittedly arrogant thoughts.
Charging forwards, he began to run in the direction the two hunters had fled, passing within a few feet of where Thalia was finishing off her last remaining opponent, Phoebe. The spear-wielding huntress by the looks of things, had the upper hand in terms of skill and experience. But, from what he could see, was lacking in terms of raw power and strength, or at least when it came to fighting one on one with a daughter of Zeus.
Unloosing his second to last arrow, he attempted to predict the actions of the two huntresses he was hunting. Both of whom had begun retreating to their base, Zeus's Fist.
"Damn," Percy cursed, his arrow ricocheting off a tree trunk and missing his target.
His last and final arrow though didn't miss, as instead it took one of the huntresses in the back. Knocking her face first onto the ground with a loud "crumping!" sound, her head bouncing off a protuberant tree root.
Casting his bow away, he rushed forward. The golden ring on his left hand already forming into his Imperial Gold gladius as he drew on his original Demigod powers and started moving faster than ever, unnaturally fast. A slight golden glow emanated off of his skin as he rapidly closed in on the fleeing huntress.
"What!" The huntress, a pretty blonde girl of around fourteen cried out, as she instinctively threw herself to the side to avoid him. Her bow clattered to the floor as she dropped it, only for her to then instead pull out a pair of twelve-inch long, silver hunting knives.
Sweeping his gladius to the side, Percy deflected a desperate thrust from the girl.
The girl was fast, and she had skill, that much was obvious. Even if she had been taken off-guard and had been forced entirely on the defensive from the get-go.
Whipping his blade around he continued to bully his way forwards. Their blades clashed again as the girl gave ground and he tried to find an opening. Both of them were moving far faster than an average Demigod.
She was fast.
Twisting his gladius, Percy caught one of her blades with his own, and then forced it away from her body, creating an opening.
But he was faster.
Lunging forwards, he threw out a clenched fist that was still emitting a slight golden glow, even as it collided with the huntress's armoured stomach. The blow nearly folded her in half, and the surprise made her drop her knives.
Following this up, Percy slipped his leg behind hers and shoulder barged her. Overbalancing her and sending her to the ground. His blade followed moments later, only to come to a rest just a centimetre above her throat.
"Dead," Percy said with a smirk.
"Hn, whatever," The blonde grunted, avoiding Percy's gaze as she stubbornly looked away. Despite that, he could hear her breathing come out harsh and heavy as she tried to catch her breath after he had winded her.
"And I think that that would be a 'FATALITY!'" Thalia's voice sounded out a few moments later. Her voice pitched oddly low as she said the last word. The dark-haired teen, now absent her helmet and looking slightly more battered and ragged than she had been at the start of the game.
"You finished her off then?" Percy asked, pulling his blade away from the scowling blonde's face.
"Easily," Thalia grinned, leaning on her spear as she did so. Her bright smile was at odds with her heavy breathing and the bleeding cut he could see dripping blood down her cheek.
"The rest of your group?" Percy asked shortly, ignoring the blonde huntress as she pushed herself to her feet and glowered at the pair of them petulantly, before with a huff she stormed away, pausing only long enough to grab her knives and bow.
"Dead, well in terms of the game. What about you, where are Michael, Will, and Alex?" Thalia asked, inquiring about the three archers that were supposed to be with him.
"Not here, we split up," Percy replied, turning back and picking up his bow from where he had thrown it aside a few meters back. Even as he kept a wary eye out for other Hunters. "We got hit by enemy fire, I took the initiative and chose to stay back and draw their attention while they fell back to support, Theo."
"That or you hid in the trees and let them go so you could use them as bait to draw out the enemy and snipe them…" Thalia shot back cynically. Her lip curled upwards into a smile, despite her accusations.
"A coincidence," Percy shrugged. "Do you know what's happening with the others?"
"No idea, if all went to plan though, Theo, and his group should hopefully still be defending the flag, and Clarisse and Katie's groups should be moving to attack the Hunter's base." Thalia shrugged. Hefting her spear up as both she and Percy began to quietly head through the forest, the daughter of Zeus leading the way.
"If things went to plan," Percy said dryly, his once again dark eyes narrowing. "You and your group took out seven Hunters, with an assist from me for two. You're welcome by the way."
Thalia rolled her eyes at his words but didn't reply as she instead waited for him to continue.
"I then took out ten huntresses, nine with my bow and one just now, and Will took out one." Percy forged on, a light smile on his face as he saw Thalia's previous reaction. "That means that eighteen huntresses are now out of action, more than half of their total number."
"That leaves them with just twelve more. Let's say four of them stayed to guard Zeus's fist, what are the other eight doing?" Thalia muttered, the two of them weaving through the trees, their weapons in hands as they looked and listened out for either enemies or allies.
"Probably splintering off to attack our base. It wouldn't surprise me to think that the group we fought was a distraction. A sizable one, and one that was meant to completely overwhelm us, but a distraction all the same." Percy nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Knowing that bitch Zoë, she's probably gone for our flag," Thalia muttered, her brow furrowing as she came to a stop and looked at Percy. "That's not good. Zoë might be a miserable, stuck-up cow, but she is still incredibly dangerous and has been with the Hunt for a long time. No normal Demigod would be able to keep up with her. It would take at least a child of one of the more powerful Olympians, if not a child of the Big Three to even have a chance of taking her on."
Percy held back a petty retort as he heard this. Was this the dismissive attitude that Melinoe had spoken of? There didn't appear to be any malice in Thalia's casual dismissal of the children of minor gods and the unclaimed. But the casual way she said it still irritated him a bit.
Pushing those thoughts aside for now, he instead focused on the matter at hand.
"Right, I would suggest that you go to Zeus's Fist and attempt to link up with one of the other groups and take the flag," Percy said, nodding to himself as he did so.
Thalia, with her skill and power set, was a tough fighter. She'd be able to look after herself and take the flag, even if the other teams had been wiped out.
"What about you?" Thalia replied, a slight frown on her pale face.
"I'll head back and check on our flag, and hopefully intercept Zoë if she's already got to it," Percy said, nodding now as he looked back the way they had just come.
Thalia sent him a curious look at that. No doubt she was wondering why he would give up the 'glory' of winning the flag so easily. Or at least that was how he interpreted the look she gave him.
"Ok, good luck," Thalia said after a moment, giving Percy a curt nod and a clap on the shoulder as she did so. Before, without another word, she turned and ran toward the Hunter's base.
"Right," Percy nodded, watching the girl go for a moment. His dark eyes flashed gold as he found himself watching her rather firm, attractive bottom for a few seconds as she ran through the forest.
He was a teenager, he couldn't help it.
Shaking his head at his attempt to justify his actions to himself. Percy gripped his bow tighter and ran back the way he had come. His eyes still glowing gold as he looked about for any arrows that might be lying around that he could reclaim or scavenge.
( - )
(Sometime Later)
Running back the way he had come, he made sure to keep his wits about him as he crossed the now-empty battle site, and the place where so many Huntresses and Campers had 'fallen'.
That said, he did pause long enough to collect a couple of arrows as he did so. A half dozen silver Hunter arrows, six of the standard bronze arrows, and two of Will Solace's golden arrows. All of which he shoved into the loose leather quiver he had on his back.
Using a quiver, it was not ideal for someone in combat. The arrows rattled about inside and the fletching bent when he ran. On top of which, the arrows could fall out if he was knocked over.
Ideally, an archer would jab their arrows into the ground at their feet. Then stand their ground on a chosen position, and let them loose as the enemy haphazardly charged towards them.
In a game such as this though, where he was running around in a forest as opposed to an ambush or a pitched battle, that tactic was not all that viable. Which was why he had had to go with a huntsman's quiver.
Drawing one of the silver arrows back on his bow, Percy made it to the small stream. The dividing line between the two teams' territories. The line that one or other of the teams needed to cross with the opposing team's flag to win.
Coming to a stop on the Hunter's side of the creek, Percy took his stance. His legs shoulder width apart and his bow raised, the string drawn back to his chin.
He could see several silver shapes flitting through the woods toward him. On top of that, he could hear the shouts of the Campers and the sound of combat echoing over from the same direction.
"Hey you, ghost guy!" A large, broad-shoulder girl with long, unkempt brown hair and a face that could be described as pretty were it not for the somewhat brutish expression on it, shouted as jogged towards him along the bank of the creek. Looking closer, he could see a red spear clutched tightly in her hand, and that her armour looked distinctly dented and battered.
Glancing sideways, Percy watched as the girl, Clarisse, came to a stop beside him. The girl was alone, the rest of her group, and the archers that had gone to support her were missing. "What's the situation?"
"Bastards ambushed us," Clarisse grunted. "There were four of them, they took out two of us in their first volley. We managed to fight back and take out two of them. I lost the other two with me when they fought back, and only two of you archer types came to back us up. They didn't last long either. It was a shit show. We didn't manage to win, so I had to retreat. Damned archers!"
Percy sent a slight smile at her last comment. "So they wiped out your group. I take it you don't know what happened to the others?"
"No idea," Clarisse shrugged. "What's the situation with you?"
Drawing his bow back, he loosed his silver arrow. The projectile struck a running huntress plumb in the chest. The force of the blow knocked her clean off of her feet.
It was a damned good shot if he said so himself.
"Thalia is going for their flag. I'm here to stop them from taking ours." Percy replied, grabbing another arrow; nocking it, aiming it and then releasing it, all in a single motion. "Which they're trying to do right now. So get your spear and go stop them!"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Clarisse growled in response, even as she turned and looked at what was happening. The spear in her hand crackled with what looked like red lightning. Before, moments later she let loose a loud battle cry and leapt across the creek as she charged the hunted Hunters.
"Children of Ares," Percy muttered to himself, releasing another arrow as he did so. His golden eyes flashed as he caught sight of Zoë sprinting towards him, his team's red flag in her hands.
Behind her, he could just about make out Theo and a couple of others, including Will and Michael all running after her. Only to be harried by three of the remaining huntresses. All of whom were protecting their lieutenant as she ran for the creek, the Camper's flag in hand.
From an initial observation, he briefly concluded that neither the remaining Hunters nor the remaining Campers had any arrows left. Which would explain why none of them were using their bows anymore.
Drawing his longbow again, he, watched Clarisse rush forwards to intercept Zoë. A roar left her lips as she thrust her spear straight at the lithe, dark-haired huntress. Only for Zoë to dodge under the lunge, and bring one of her knives down and into the knee joint of Clarisse's leg.
The blunt side of the blade caused the leg to fold with brutal force, and Clarisse let out a growl of pain and stumbled. Only for Zoë to leap up to her feet again, and land a sharp and surprisingly strong blow to the large girl's temple with the hilt of her knife. The force of the blow sent Clarisse crashing to the ground
The confrontation lasted all of five seconds.
"Well, damn," Percy muttered, releasing an arrow at Zoë. Only for the dark-haired huntress to agilely avoid the arrow with an almost embarrassing level of ease.
Unfortunately for Zoë though, Clarisse's interception and her having to dodge Percy's arrow had slowed her down enough for Theo and a nearly half dozen other Demigods to catch up to her. A pitched battle quickly formed, with the four remaining huntresses fighting off the seven Demigod Campers, including the son of Poseidon in a fierce tactical retreat.
This, for Percy, was especially useful as to fight off the Campers properly the Hunters had to turn their backs on him. Which in turn left them open for two consecutive arrows to the backs. Each shot knocked them forward and onto the blades of the attacking Campers.
Theo, taking advantage of the chaos, lunged forward with his bronze blade and knocked another one down for a 'kill'.
This in turn left Zoë, the last huntress standing. Her skill, speed and the ferocity of her fighting style held the Campers off, despite their numerical advantage. She even managed to get a pair of kills in whilst doing so. Her swift, unpredictable movements weren't just holding off the Campers though. They also made it all but impossible for Percy to land a shot, just in case she moved and he hit an ally instead.
It was a stalemate of sorts, Zoë couldn't break away, but they couldn't pin her down. Not unless, he threw down his bow and rushed her from behind, boxing her in and engaging her in close combat.
Which, although it should be an easy win in theory. Might not be so easy in practice as with her rapid movements and experience and the Campers' lack of experience and numbers, it would make it more chaotic than before. All the Campers would be tripping over each other to get her. Like they were doing now, and she would be able to make a break for it in the confusion. Especially with Percy not there with a bow just in case she tried that very same thing.
It was an irritating situation to be put in.
"Oi ghost boy, move out of the way!" A voice shouted out behind him.
But fortunately, his side was made up of more than just him and the clumsy group of Campers currently fighting Zoë.
"It's about time," Percy shot back at Thalia, momentarily glancing back at her as he did so.
The punk-haired girl was sprinting towards him, a silver flag clutched in her hand. Three Campers on her tail, including the pretty, green-eyed, daughter of Demeter, Katie.
Noticeably no Hunters were chasing after them.
"Shut it, the ones guarding the flag put up a tougher fight than I thought they would!" Thalia grinned back, sprinting the last few metres to Percy as she did so.
"How many were there? I thought that there would only be four of them, and by the looks of it you had reinforcements." Percy called back at her curiously, an arrow nocked but his bow lowered as he watched Thalia and her group stream past him.
"Oh shut up you," Thalia grumbled, sending him a sideways look, her cheeks a little pink. Even as she ran past him and leapt over the stream and onto the other side.
"Yeah, there were only three in the end," Katie nodded as she came to a stop next to him with the others as they watched Thalia win the game, even as Zoë broke away from the others and sprinted the last dozen meters to the bank. Only for her to then be met with the sight of Thalia already on the other side of the river the Hunter's flag held up over her head in triumph.
The daughter of Zeus was no doubt smirking as the Lieutenant of the Hunt ran up to her. Or at least that is what he presumed she was doing based on the older, dark-haired girl's fierce scowl.
"And I think that that is a win," Percy mused, his bow at his side now, whilst he idly played with the arrow in his other hand.
As he said this the Campers all around him started cheering. Those that had been 'killed' and reduced to spectators rushing over with Chiron. With several Nature Spirits and Satyrs following after them.
The Hunter's several century-long winning streak had been broken.
"Yeah, it was a good game." Katie nodded happily, slinging her arms around the two Demigods with her, and grinning at Percy as all around him people started shouting and cheering.
The Hunters though, noticeably looked a bit grumpier and more subdued as they gathered. Some of them sent glares at certain Campers. The twin sons of Hermes, the Stolls, and surprisingly, Percy.
No doubt they were the ones he had 'killed'.
"Ha! Suck it Nightshade!" Thalia's voice sounded out over the cheers, even as Percy and his group crossed the creek and joined with the rest of them.
"Quiet yourself, little girl, thou got lucky, nothing more!" Zoë snapped back, her beautiful features twisting into an irritated scowl. Several of her fellow Hunters, including Bianca, nodded along behind her.
"Talk about being a bad loser." Thalia retorted a smirk on her face as several of the Campers that were now behind her started laughing and jeering.
From where he stood, it looked like the two groups were on the verge of brawling.
Now wouldn't that be fun, Percy thought to himself as he, Katie and the others merged in with the other Campers. Several of them made room as Percy and Katie walked to the front of the group where Thalia, Theo, the Stoll twins, Will and Michael were standing.
Yes, it looked like things were about to kick off, and not in a good way.
Already, he could see Chiron trying to play peacemaker as the centaur forced himself between the two groups. His bearded face had gained a stern expression, and his hooves stamped loudly on the ground as he called for order.
"That is enough from both of you, the traditional game of capture the flag is over, now let's draw a line under it!" Chiron called his arms folded, as he looked between the now-rebellious looking, Thalia, and the stubborn looking, Zoë.
Seeing this, Percy folded his arms, a smile spreading across his face as he watched to see what would happen next.
Only for him, and everyone else present, to be caught by surprise by what did happen next. As, without warning, the mummified body of a skinny, haggard-looking woman slowly staggered its way towards the huntresses as everyone else looked on in shock.
The woman's eyes were glowing green and emitting wisps of greenish smoke, even as it stopped directly in front of the shocked, Zoë. Before without any lead up to it, green smoke began to pour from its mouth as it rasped:
"Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be taken in the land without rain,
The Bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's Curse must one withstand,
And one shall be unveiled by a relative's hand"
A few seconds passed as the mummified woman stopped talking. Only for the undead-looking woman in question to then collapse to the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut moments after it finished talking.
As this happened and the silence began to linger. Percy looked over at Zoë, the person the undead woman had addressed. Only for him to see that her face had turned pale white as the woman collapsed onto the ground.
Chiron meanwhile. looked grimmer than ever as he cantered over to Zoë, his face pale after hearing the woman's words.
It made Percy very curious about just who in hell the corpse was and why she was able to spout off prophecies like someone who had been blessed by the God of Prophecy, Apollo, himself.
"We will have a meeting in the big house in fifteen minutes with the cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," Chiron said grimly, looking around now at the noticeably more subdued group of Campers and Hunters.
Zoë and Thalia nodded numbly at that, both sharing a glance, before without a word they and the rest of the group broke up. The previous tension was now nonexistent as a couple of Campers gingerly picked up the corpse, even as everyone else started trooping back to camp. A new tension had started to spread over the assembled group. This one is worse than the last.
Watching all of this happen, Percy knew he needed to get into that meeting. The ever-curious part of him needed to know just what in Hades was happening!
( - )
AN: And there the chapter is, and it was a big one! Like seriously I think this chapter got away from me, originally I had intended to cover all of this in about four thousand words and then use another thousand to set up the upcoming Quest. Well turns out I got too into writing the Capture the Flag game and such, but ahh well, it is what it is. That said there are a few details I threw into the chapter, some subtle, some not so subtle, that sets up things for the future.
Hopefully, you enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter though will set them off on their quest, and with a fancy prophecy to fulfil and all sorts of adventures to follow. Including some interesting additions I will be adding in, thanks to Percy's more expansive knowledge of the mythological world than he had in canon.
Should be good fun. Hope you all leave a review and continue to support the story. Please do check out my other stories if you have the time.
Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later.
Greed720.
