Happy two-year anniversary to this story! (I type in April 2022 since that's when I started this chapter.) (I nearly forgot what I was getting into when I proofread this in October 2022).
For reference, this happens after BoO and before THO.
This chapter has a spot in my heart.
Story #42: Reyna Leads the Underdogs
As if Capture the Flag at Camp Half-Blood wasn't a big enough spectacle, things got muckier when Artemis' Hunters and some from Camp Jupiter came to play. Since they were on Camp Half-Blood land, they played by their rules.
To make team divisions easier, they agreed on a classic: Quadruple A now becomes Quintuple A (Athena, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis' Hunters). Percy's Unnamed Team has the other cabins from 1 to 13 that don't start with A. And, as a new addition, since Reyna's god parent doesn't exactly have a Greek counterpart, she would lead the minor god cabins (Iris, Nemesis, Hebe, Tyche, and Hecate).
As always, one of the rules is not to use their special powers but, as always nobody listens to that one.
-o-
Percy thinks that his team has the advantage because they did amazing last time and have more Big Three kids just by pure coincidence. They'd even have Leo if the battle against Gaea ended in their favour … he would've loved this game.
"Okay, are we all in agreement that Jason hides the flag?" Percy says, holding their team flag towards Jason.
Without hesitation, Percy's Unnamed Team nod and Percy tosses the flag over Jason like a sash.
"Really?" Jason asks, bunching the fabric.
"Percy lost the flag last time he was in charge," Connor tells him.
Percy scoffs. "I didn't lose it… I forgot where it was."
"And we still lost," Miranda says.
"Didn't help that you and Travis planted decoy flags everywhere," Katie adds.
"That totally helped," Travis argues.
Percy nods, putting a hand on Travis' shoulder. "It really did."
The girls roll their eyes. Jason looks at Hazel and Nico who both shrug. She's even wearing the same black half-blood shirt Nico has on underneath an unzipped sweatshirt.
Hazel tugs at Jason's sleeve. "Go hide the flag. They'll be here a while."
"I'll show you some places in the woods where nobody looks," Nico says as they leave during everyone else arguing.
-o-
Annabeth thinks she has the advantage. The most strategic battle-forward half-bloods and the Hunters, who are already an efficient team on their own (and probably prefer it that way). Not to mention that they won last time.
"I finally have a cool brother!" Clarisse exclaims, dropping her spear to give Frank a hug.
Annabeth isn't sure if she's ever seen Clarisse hug anyone unless she was fighting them, even then the other party stopped breathing. But she's smiling much to the dismay of her other brothers who aren't offended to be deemed less cool than Frank since he can turn into a shark.
"I can't tell you Reyna's plays, but Nico shadow travels or Hazel could hide their flag underground. Demeter's cabin can help with that," Annabeth says.
She stays talking with other counsellors and reps from their team's cabins as she told the other campers where to hide the flag and to scout for the other flags and teams.
"Percy's probably going to put Jason in charge," Thalia suggests, "which means he'll use flight to his advantage."
"Or an actual strategy," Will counters, "if that's an advantage."
"Maybe Reyna would try the same," Frank says. "I probably would. It's second nature to us."
"It can be," Annabeth says. "Last time they kinda led us to their flag."
"I could just ask them for it," Piper suggests.
They look at her, tempted. They could instantly win this with the right words.
"We gotta save that," Clarisse says. "I'd like this game to have a good fight and make it worth my time."
"We also have an air advantage," Frank says, grinning at them. "And unlike Jason, they'll never see me coming. Pick your animal."
-o-
Reyna thinks she's disadvantaged because she doesn't know her team (not because their parents are considered minor gods), but maybe being strangers-turned-allies will be an advantage. If anything, at least her teammates know each other and she could strategize a victory based on their banter.
"I believe we can win this," Chiara says, standing on a tree stump in front of Reyna. "We got it in our destiny and luck on our side."
"We can give each other free Iris calls," Butch suggests. "Saves us time needing to regroup and re-strategize."
Laurel cracks her knuckles as she bounces on her toes in a fighting stance. "We're so getting that flag."
Holly rolls her shoulders. She's wearing the same blue tracksuit as her sister alongside the orange camp shirt. "Well, I will."
"No, I will."
Paolo steps between them. "Ladies, ladies, I'm getting that flag."
"You wish," Holly and Laurel say in sync, grinning at each other after the fact.
Reyna stabs her sword into the ground between her dogs. "Unless I do. We'll discuss schematics later."
"Piece of cake," Lou Ellen says as she ties her dark green hair back into a ponytail. "I can mess up some minds and take care of this." She snaps her fingers and their flag disappears. "Nobody will find it now."
Damien nods. "Not to mention the big part of this is that the other two teams will just focus on each other. One attacks the other so they'll retaliate. Unless I decide to mess it and mess up both teams."
Reyna nods, liking the sound of her team putting together a plan. "We can sneak under their noses. I'll send my dogs out so the others will think they're looking for the flags."
Chiara walks over to Reyna's dogs and leans over to pet them. The dogs pant and wag their tails happily. Reyna smiles proudly as Butch hands them all some drachmas for the "free" Iris calls in case they'd need it.
"We're seriously the team of fate, victory, magic and more … how can they overlook us?" Reyna asks as she picks up her sword.
Chiara looks up from the dogs. "We're that lucky."
"We can curse everyone else," Holly adds. "Like, actually curse. Apollo's kids can just give us stupid couplets."
"Can we curse them?" Lou Ellen asks excitedly. "I have some spells I'd love to test out."
"I got a trick up my sleeve," Damien adds.
"Me too," Paolo says.
Reyna stares at her team. She has the best allies ever.
"When we need it," Reyna says.
-o-
As much as Frank wanted to turn into a woodland creature or a bird, he had to blend in and spy on the others. Ares' cabin was taking on Demeter's by the campfire as Athena's and Aphrodite's were fighting Hermes' and Hephaestus' by the bowl of the U where the cabins are. Reyna and her team were scattered throughout the forest, likely looking for flags rather than battling the others.
If he transformed into a big bird, he would fly faster and could fight like a hunting bird but he would be noticeable. The air gives him the advantage his team needs since he could catch Jason flying (unless Hazel's covering him with the Mist) and get an aerial view of the entire campgrounds.
So he sufficed for a small hawk but once he crossed the canopy of trees, he turns into a butterfly. A more delicate creature that most would admire and leave alone.
Frank flutters down where he sees Hazel and some of her team talking as they walk in the woods. She's with Percy and two of Demeter's girls. He didn't catch Nico or Jason on his way over here.
He flaps his small and colourful wings in front of Hazel's face, making her jump a little when she sees him. His heart swells as she watches her face change from fright to wonder at his butterfly form, not knowing it's him. He catches his reflection in her pupils, wanting to hug her so badly when she smiles.
Hazel perches a finger for him to land on but right as he dismounts. He's taken off-course. For a moment, Frank thinks that Jason landed from flying somewhere but it's way worse.
He looks around and feels that he's trapped in glass. Frank flutters around the jar, panicking.
"What was that for?" Hazel asks.
"Relax," Katie says as she tightens the jar. She uses a pruning knife to poke holes in the lid which made Frank sink to the floor of the jar to avoid being stabbed.
Percy takes the jar and holds it close, waving at Frank through the jar. He waves back with his little leg which makes Percy laugh.
"We just want a good pollinator for our crops," Miranda says.
Frank can safely declare that he's definitely not a good pollinator.
-o-
"Oh boy…" Annabeth mutters.
She takes off her invisibility cap and lowers her binoculars as Clarisse, Thalia, and Piper approach her. They look ahead and see Hazel, Katie, Percy, and Miranda through the clove of trees and bushes, looking at a butterfly in a jar. They didn't see anything wrong with it until Annabeth explained Frank was the butterfly.
Piper snorts a laugh, covering her mouth. She walks to the side before laughing aloud but not loud enough for the other team to hear her.
"Great, now we gotta get that jar," Clarisse says. Not disappointed, she raises her spear. "Or I could whip this at the jar to break it and Frank could fly out."
"You mean we gotta capture the jar?" Piper jokes, making herself laugh.
Nobody else laughs. Annabeth has to stop Clarisse from throwing her spear at Piper.
"She could skip over and charmspeak for it," Annabeth suggests.
"No, we'll save that," Thalia says. "How about this instead?"
Thalia looks up at the sky and dark clouds rush through the sky to be above them. Thunder rumbles, shaking the ground. Lightning crackles, building around her fingertips as blinding bolts flash in the sky.
"Hold on…" Thalia says as a grin crawls onto her face.
The winds pick up, strong enough to rip trees from the ground. Clarisse stabs her spear into the ground to hold herself in place, making Piper and Annabeth hold on as well.
Ahead, Hazel grabs the Demeter girls and Katie grabs Percy as she drags them through a tunnel to keep them safe. Amid the building storm, Frank transforms from a butterfly into a hound like Reyna's, breaking the jar once he got bigger. He looks at his team before scampering off.
"Nobody's gonna go near Reyna's dogs…" Annabeth mutters. "Smart. Let's head out. Keep the storm coming."
-o-
Will didn't expect it to get dark so fast, but his body tingles as he makes himself glow so he could see his way. Despite now sticking out like a flame and being an easy target, he hopes nobody else is around. He changes direction to find his team since he didn't recall a storm or flying trees being a part of the plan.
Will runs until he suddenly trips. His face skids on the ground before he rolls on his back. Will turns around and sees legs sticking out from underneath a bush.
"Ugh, not again," Will groans.
He stands and walks over to the legs. He nudges one of the feet with his toes and the person groans, pulling their legs back to themselves. At least they're not dead.
Will steps closer as Nico rises from the bushes, stretching his arms and cracking his back. He brushes the leaves and twigs from his sweater, missing a lot in his hair. He smiles when Nico squints his eyes against Will's bright light.
"Wow…" Nico mutters. "You're bright."
"Hidden talent," Will says. "What happened to you?"
"Shadow-travelled too much and needed a nap. I gave myself some of Coach's sports medicine. Is the game still going on?"
Will laughs a little, especially since Nico looked dead serious. "Yes. Do you want to - I don't know - I could give you some 7-Up and a Kit Kat. It's better than Gatorade."
"Coach is gonna be so mad you said that."
The wind picks up and Will notices something flittering out of Nico's hood. He steps to the side and leans forward, his face close enough to Nico's that they could feel each other breathing. Nico looks up at the glowing boy before turning to the side and seeing his team's flag flapping in the wind. He looks as surprised as Will.
It's weird when half-bloods reach that point in a quest or a game where the results could go either way, when one choice decides the outcome. For a moment, Will and Nico forgot they were on opposing teams and now they have a flag waving in their faces. A half-blood's path can alter and they could do one thing that they normally would in another time and place.
"How long was that there?" Nico whispers.
Will laughs again before seeing how bewildered Nico is while looking at his flag. Classic Percy's Unnamed Team tactic.
"I'll see you later for some Kit Kat," Nico says.
Will looks at Nico who disappears to shadow travel with his flag. He smiles before running back to his team to tell them where Percy's Unnamed Team hid their flag because it's mobile.
-o-
Jason dives mid-air, dodging a lightning bolt from his dear sister. He slides on the ground, keeping his footing as he runs up to his team taking shelter under a rock formation that resembles a small cave. Once he's inside, Hazel covers them up with some Mist. The storm outside is now muffled.
"What happened to you?" Jason asks Travis who's having his arm bandaged by Katie.
"Reyna's dogs are sniffing around for flags and one of them bit me for no reason," Travis grumbles.
Katie fastens the bandage tightly, ignoring Travis' yelp. "The dog doesn't need one."
"I don't know where any flags are," Jason says.
"Please say you know where ours is," Hazel begs.
"Kinda…"
"What does kinda mean?" Miranda asks, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Who made you hide the flag?" Percy asks him
"You did!" Jason yells.
"At least he kinda remembers where it is," Connor argues for him.
Percy glares at him. "Not cool. Where is it?"
"I gave it to Nico," Jason responds, fixing his glasses.
Hazel nods. "Smart."
"I hid it on him without him knowing so he doesn't know he has it. Maybe he realized it by now."
"Smarter." Even the Stoll brothers are impressed.
"And you all gave me Styx because I forgot where it was," Percy interjects. "Nico doesn't even know he has it."
"Okay…" Miranda mutters. "Where's Nico?"
Everyone looks at each other for an answer, knowing it when nobody says anything.
"Not even you, Hazel?" Jason asks.
"I was busy counteracting Lou Ellen's mist manipulation but I might've made it worse…" Hazel mutters. "I think Reyna's team hid their flag with magic because I tried to summon the flag pole. I can't tell what's real or not anymore."
"Mortals use drugs for that effect," Connor points out.
"Shut up," Miranda rolls her eyes as she leans back against the rock wall.
"Maybe we're lucky and Nico ditched us to hang out with Hades," Travis says. "They can't find the flag if it's not even here."
"Or he's unconscious in a ditch somewhere."
"As long as he's hiding for the team."
"This is why that dog bit you," Katie whispers with a grin.
Travis glares at her, smirking as a Hermes kid would. "Your attitude is why that butterfly escaped. That dog looked at me with its beady eyes before attacking."
"Beady?" Jason asks.
"Yeah, black beady eyes."
Jason and Percy glance at each other before laughing. Even Hazel sighs before giggling. They know damn well that Reyna's dogs have jewelled eyes.
-o-
"I hate them!" Clarisse screams as her group approaches the lake. "I knew we should've just let them be their own stupid team!"
Clarisse chucks a giant boulder into the water. Piper and Annabeth crouch behind Clarisse to avoid the tidal wave-like splash. Clarisse simmers down as she walks to the pier and crouches to throw some water on her face as if she wasn't already showered by her boulder.
They had an unplanned battle with the Hunters who staged a coup and wanted to separate. Eventually, after many campers and hunters down on both sides, they agreed on a truce much to Ares' cabin dismay.
"Back to Quadruple A we go…" Clarisse mutters.
"The better team anyways," Annabeth says.
"But they don't have a flag," Piper says. "They're just working against us for the same goal."
Clarisse scoffs. "Thanks for stating the obvious, Hollywood."
The forest behind them rustles and the three of them raise their weapons. They lower them when they see that it's only Will.
"I know where Percy's team's flag is," Will says.
"Then why didn't you get it?" Annabeth asks.
"That's the thing…" Will says. "Nico has it on him like it was hidden in his sweater. He shadow-travelled away before I could grab it."
Clarisse nods, spinning her spear by its tip. "Don't tell any of the Hunters. They abandoned us. Tell them that Jackson is wearing it as a skirt."
Piper laughs a little. "Okay, I have the perfect distraction. We'll need my cabin and Apollo's."
Annabeth groans. "Dear gods…"
"If we don't win, I'm killing both those cabins and the Hunters. Not you, Will, only because you know where the flag is."
"Yeah…" Will mutters, avoiding their eyes.
The three girls look at each other before Annabeth pulls a drachma out of her pocket. Lucky for her, there are rainbows in the water from Clarisse's splash.
-o-
Thanks to their light-tapped Iris calls, Reyna's team knew exactly what the other teams were doing. They caught word about every change in plans and that The Hunters abandoned Quintuple-Turned-Quadruple A. They listened to Annabeth's recent call to the rest of her team, assembling them to the campfire.
So Reyna's team went, sticking to the forest borders. They peek over bushes and from behind trees, seeing Apollo's cabin setting up their battle instruments but not for fighting, for performing. Piper stands in front of them with the rest of her cabin. They form a triangle formation where Piper is the main point.
The band warms up before playing a cheerful tune. Before Piper opens her mouth, Reyna orders her team to plug their ears. Lou Ellen waves her hands and mutes the sound around them except for hearing each other.
"She's gonna charmspeak - or charm sing - for the flags with Apollo's cabin as a musical accompaniment," Reyna says, grinning a little. "Smart plan, come to think of it. But, gods, this is horrifying."
"You should've seen the orientation film," Damien says.
Reyna looks at the others as they shudder. "I heard nobody's seen it."
"Yeah, but Apollo made it back in the Stone Age," Lou Ellen mumbles snarkily.
Reyna shivers at the thought of that. "Disgusting. That poor Stone Age. Alright, Underdogs, let's get those flags. They're coming our way anyways."
They look up and Jason comes crashing down from the sky, rolling on the ground beside the spot where Hazel, Percy, Katie, Miranda, and the Stoll brothers burst out from the ground. All of them brush dirt and grass off themselves.
"Give her the flag!" Percy yells at Jason, pointing at Piper.
Jason wipes his glasses on his shirt. "I don't have it!"
"I hate this music!" Katie screams.
Miranda shoves dirt and grass in her ears as Connor and Travis ballroom dance with each other to the music. Travis dips Connor who kicks up his leg.
"Nico!" Jason and Percy scream into the void.
Chiara runs over to Apollo's band and snags one of the guitars. She breaks one of the strings and turns every peg before plugging it into an amp. She whips her fingers across the strings and the horrible sound of her guitar echoes and pulsates through camp. The Apollo cabin screams at the disgrace of the sound.
When the Aphrodite kids rise after covering their ears, they look at each other and screech at the sight of them all resembling old hags. Hunched shoulders, endless age spots and wrinkles, dry grey hair, teeth that fall out when their mouths open.
Paolo laughs as Butch tricks them with the light to change the shadowing and make them look worse. Lou Ellen waves her hands and duplicates all the campers. Clarisse and her brothers cheer when there are more people to fight, but Athena's cabin flees when spiders start appearing in mass amounts.
"Those dumb dogs bit me!" Travis yells, pointing at his bandaged arm.
Reyna looks at her dogs who sit beside her patiently and undisturbed by Camp's current chaos.
"Excuse me?" Reyna asks. "My dogs don't like liars."
Travis flees when Aurum and Argentum snarl and chase him through the battles. Reyna has no idea what that was about until she sees Frank walk by her, whistling as he runs a hand through his hair. He smiles sheepishly at Reyna, mouthing an apology. Reyna takes a second to think before she sees Jason and Percy laughing as they make their way over, high-fiving Frank.
"He was trying to pet me," Frank defends. "I didn't want to be touched there or anywhere, really. Don't even get me started when he got a leash out. I almost missed the jar."
"Well, now he's really getting bitten," Reyna says.
Reyna runs past the boys to find her team but stops when she sees a conspicuous pile of dirt outside the Big House. She looks around before crouching in front of it and brushing some off. The moment she sees Nico underneath, she digs faster — not because she wants to dig him out because she understands the healing powers of Coach's sports medicine, but because she knows the flag is still on him.
When she sees that fabric sticking out from his shoulder, Reyna pulls it out and grips it in her hand. At that moment, she looks up and sees Holly and Laurel jumping out of the Big House Attic's window with Quadruple A's flag in both their hands. When they land, they hand Reyna the flag. Lou Ellen runs up to them with Butch, Paolo, Chiara, and Damien as she materializes their own flag in their hands before giving it to Reyna.
Aurum and Argentum run up to Reyna after successfully biting Travis again.
The game is called and all the illusions dissipate as a rainbow shines above Reyna and her Underdogs. The rest of Camp looks at them in shock.
"To us, the Underdogs," Reyna says, holding up the flags like a toast.
"To us!" Her team chants.
I will definitely write a Capture the Flag game post-ToA with Lester, Meg, Leo, and more. Maybe for the next anniversary.