[Third Person’s PoV]

The next day marked the time for Camp Half-Blood’s most famous event, Capture the Flag. Excitement buzzed through the camp as demigods hurried to put on their armor and grab their weapons. The anticipation in the air was palpable.

Lucian and Thalia stood facing each other, their respective teams lined up behind them. Percy stood awkwardly between them as they both argued over which side he would join.

“It’s just one guy, why do you even want him on your team anyway? It’s not like it’ll really make a difference!” Thalia argued.

“I’m standing right here,” Percy interjected with a straight face. “Thank you for your kind words.”

“Exactly, it’s one guy. What difference does it make? You guys are still going to lose either way, so he might as well come to our side!” Lucian retorted, smirking.

“Seeing the way you’re fighting for him just makes me want him on our side more. He might just have something that will be able to defeat you,” Thalia said, glaring at Lucian for his earlier comment.

“This feels like I’m in a custody battle,” Percy muttered under his breath.

“Please decide quickly, we don’t have all day,” Chiron, who was supervising the event, said with a sigh.

Lucian met Thalia’s glare with one of his own. “Then you leave me with no choice,” he said as he removed his helmet and tossed it to the side.

Thalia did the same, removing her armor and throwing it aside. “I should be the one saying that. That just leaves us with one option left.”

Percy sighed and took a few steps back. “Why—” He was cut off by Lucian and Thalia’s next move.

“ROCK.”

“PAPER.”

“SCISSORS.”

They both shouted, throwing their fists between them.

“SHOOT.”

Lucian threw out paper, while Thalia threw out rock.

“Damn it!” Thalia grumbled, kicking a piece of rock on the ground. The rock shot out, hitting a tree and embedding itself deep into the trunk.

“Hell yeah, baby!” Lucian exclaimed, raising his fists to the sky. “Percy, it looks like you’re on the winning side today!”

Lucian happily put his armor back on, while Thalia grumbled as she did the same. When they were done, Lucian turned to her. “How about this, just to prove to you that Percy wouldn’t have made a difference whether I win or lose, next game he’s yours.”

“You guys know I have feelings as well, right? Does my opinion not matter?” Percy grumbled playfully.

Lucian patted Percy on the shoulder. “Here’s a rule of the supernatural world you might not like or want to hear: when you’re weak, your opinion and feelings are more than likely to be overlooked or outright ignored. If you want people to listen to you and respect your decisions and words, grow stronger. Then your opinion will matter.”

“Wha—” Percy began to ask in surprise as everyone started moving to their respective flags.

Annabeth lingered behind. “Believe it or not, he’s right. He was trying to teach you a lesson just now.”

“Really?” Percy asked, concern evident in his expression.

Annabeth nodded. “In this world, strength triumphs over all. You’ll survive longer if you’re smart too, but that’s neither here nor there. Now come, Lucian’s about to share what he has planned.”

Percy nodded, trying to mask his nervousness as they joined the rest of the team.

“We will be dropping from the skies,” Lucian announced with a smirk.

“Huh?” The others muttered, looking at Lucian as if he was crazy.

Lucian extended his hand, and a ball of purple electricity appeared. Suddenly, everyone began to rise off the ground. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, how are you doing this!?” they shouted.

“A new magic I created based on electromagnets. I’ll carry everyone with me, and those who use bows will strike from the skies. Of course, some will move on foot, flanking them from the sides and intercepting any attackers. I’ll leave that part to Athena’s cabin.

Those I’ll be carrying will mostly be from the Apollo and Hephaestus cabins. We still have a few minutes to plan, so Castor, Pollux, with me. There’s another magic I have at my disposal that I’ll need your help with.

Our defenders will be Annabeth and Percy.”

“Are you sure about leaving the new kid to defend the flag?” Charles asked, glancing at Percy. “No offense.”

“Uhhh, none taken,” Percy replied, still trying to process everything that was happening.

“You all saw how he took down the Minotaur, so have some faith in him. Plus, have I ever led you guys astray? Have more confidence in my leadership,” Lucian said, reassuring the group.

They nodded in agreement, their expressions serious.

“Now then, into positions. Percy, a word with you for a bit.”

“Huh? Uh, sure…”

Lucian led Percy to the side of the river. “Listen, I have no doubt you’re going to be attacked. If at any point you feel like you might lose, head for the water. It’s your source of strength; it makes you powerful.”

“Why would the water make me powerful?” Percy asked, confused.

“You remember the card, right?” Lucian asked. “That should give you a hint as to who your father really is.”

Percy’s eyes widened as he connected the dots. “You mean my father is—”

“Don’t say his name, but yes. I’m certain he’s your father. The reason you were able to take down that Minotaur was that the rain was empowering you. Which, by the way, also means you and I are cousins.”

Percy’s mouth hung open as he absorbed this revelation.

“If you want to use your demigod abilities, stay near a source of water. You’ll feel a tug in your gut. You should be able to manipulate the water defensively. That’s all for now. We’ll talk later if you have any more questions,” Lucian said, patting Percy on the shoulder. “Pollux, Castor, come on.”

The Dionysus twins jogged over. “What is it, boss man?” Castor asked.

“Yeah, boss man, what do you need?” Pollux added.

“I’ve got this new magic, and it’s all about traps. I need your abilities to manipulate a bit of madness. I’ll also need bait for these traps, bait who know how to act their asses off to get them hooked.”

“Heh, boss man, you couldn’t have chosen a better set of twins,” Pollux said as he and Castor high-fived.

“I know,” Lucian smirked.

…

Meanwhile, on the opposing team’s side…

“I need the Ares cabin to flank through the woods. Use the trees as cover; you should be able to sneak past them and get to their side. Knowing Lucian, he’ll have set up Annabeth and Percy as guards. Percy isn’t that experienced in fighting, so to take him down, you’ll need to overwhelm him.

I want Luke to lead his cabin through the riverside and flank them. Luke, you’ll have the best chance of taking down Annabeth. With Annabeth occupied and Percy taken down, the flag will be ours for the taking.

The rest of you will go straight down the middle between Ares’ cabin and Hermes’ cabin and face Lucian head-on. As you all know, Lucian is confrontational and won’t back down from any fight. We’ll use that against him. Wear him down, and I’ll stand guard to face him.”

Clarisse, arms crossed, scoffed. “You can’t beat Lucian. You’ve never been able to. Once he gets past everyone, you won’t be able to stop him.”

“The plan isn’t to beat him,” Thalia replied. “It’s to stall him. Our victory depends on all of you. I might lose the battle, but I won’t lose the war.”

The sound of the war horn echoed across the camp, signaling the start of the game.

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