DOOMSDAY

____________

THE SCORCHING HEAT of the sun has become unbearable for Valeria and the rest of the blue team as they stand beneath it, dressed head to toe in their battle armor for the fourth game of Capture the Flag.

Valeria's chest piece has been smeared with royal blue paint in several areas, her long hair styled into a loose French braid down her spine. A helmet with blue horsehair sticking out the top covers the rest of her skull. She holds a bronze sword in her dominant right hand, a matching shield being strapped to her left forearm for additional protection (by Annabeth's demand).

She glances around her, eventually looking over at Percy. He stands closely behind Luke and Chris at the frontlines of their side of the forest.

At some point during the night, Annabeth decided to recruit Percy for his assistance in going up against the red team, though Valeria is still unsure of what exactly Percy will be helping out with. Regardless, Valeria refuses to question the Athena girl's logic — so she's simply going to oblige to whichever task she'll be assigned for this match.

Clarisse, whose own body armor is painted in red, takes her spot towards the edge of the small ravine with her spear in hand. Her eyes slowly travel across her opponents, glaring at Percy specifically once she finds him in the crowd. The boy swallows nervously at this.

"The first team to retrieve the opposing flag and return it across the river shall be the victor!" Chiron declares, his voice booming loudly. His next choice of words is intended for the Ares children, who usually ignore the repeated warning anyways. "As always, there will be no maiming or killing. I trust these rules will be respected. Any magical items you possess, are permitted as well."

While Chiron goes on to explain more of the game's regulations, Percy hesitantly looks down to the bullet point pen in his grasp, thumb hovering over the cap.

"It's okay," Luke whispers, seemingly noticing Percy's contemplation. "Let her rip."

"I still don't even know what my job is," Percy mentions, breathing out quietly and shrugging a shoulder. "Maybe I won't even need a sword."

Chiron exclaims, "Let the games begin!" and as if on cue, Clarisse and her allies let out threatening battle cries. Their shouts echo through the air and reverberate off the trees, along with the slamming of their spears and swords against their shields to further emphasize their aggression. Valeria presses her lips together to hide her amused smile at their actions and Percy's facial expression.

Percy blinks. "I'm gonna need a sword."

The thunderous blow of the conch shell is heard not long after, and everyone has begun to split off into their own sections and move through various paths of the forest. Valeria eventually finds herself with Luke and Percy, watching as Annabeth approaches them with a determined look on her features.

"All right. We have twenty minutes before the second conch, and game-on. You know what you're doing?"

Luke nods. "Yes, ma'am."

"Val, you go with him," Annabeth instructs.

Valeria agrees, brushing the strands of hair dangling in her line of sight away from her eyes. "Sounds good to me."

He briefly touches Valeria's forearm, tipping his head to the side to signal for her to follow. However, Annabeth calls out again, making them pause momentarily and turn to peer back at the girl.

"Hey," Annabeth starts. "Today feel like a winning kind of day to you?"

Luke smiles at her. "I'll see you on the other side." He raises his sword to face his and Valeria's team, pointing in the direction of the bridge leading to another part of the blue team's territory. "Company! Move out."

"Kleos!" Glory.

____________

The second conch sounded nearly six minutes ago, yet none of Clarisse's allies have decided to make their attack. Luke and Valeria's team continues to march through the woods cautiously, though it's clear that many have already grown bored from the lack of action and uncomfortable from the treacherous warmth.

Valeria lets out an exasperated sigh, sheathing her sword and lifting her now free hand to remove her helmet. The relief that floods her scalp is refreshing, and she shakes her head softly while humming.

"What are you doing?" Luke asks, slowing his pace to match hers. "Put your helmet back on."

Valeria rolls her eyes at his command, tossing it aside instead. "Come on, Luke. My head feels like it's on fire. I won't need it."

"You won't have a head anymore if somebody decides to chop it off because you weren't wearing a helmet."

"Dramatic much?"

"You're the expert."

Valeria smacks her shield into his hip, causing Luke to sway slightly on the tilted ground as he chuckles. "I'm not even that dramatic."

"Uh—huh. Whatever you say."

Chris shifts his body slightly to peer over his shoulder at the two. "Lovebirds, can we focus on the game, please?"

Luke glares at his cabin mate, coming to a pause in order to retrieve the girl's discarded headgear. "You think you're funny, don't you?"

The boy shrugs, grinning smugly and twisting back around to face the front of the line.

Then Luke holds out the helmet to Valeria, who looks up at him blankly and unimpressed. "Put it on," he repeats. "I'm not gonna deal with your whining later when you get hurt because—"

A sudden shout from up ahead causes Luke to drop her helmet and instinctively unsheathe his sword from the scabbard on his hip, as if he had been anticipating the ambush already. Valeria copies his actions just as several members of the red team leap out from behind bushes and trees, letting out cries to announce themselves as the battle ensues.

When somebody lunges past Luke to get to Valeria, she counters her opponent's attack with ease, the steel of their swords grinding together and blending with the other noises surrounding them. She pushes against their blade harshly, gritting her teeth while using her shield to block their abrupt attempt at jabbing her side.

Valeria maneuvers around their body to switch places with them. They deflect one another's strikes by swinging their swords in precise yet effective motions, though Valeria seems to be more capable of continuing these movements than her opponent because their grip has started to loosen around the hilt of their sword. Valeria uses this to her advantage, taking a quick step forward and slicing her blade through the distance between them.

As they stumble away, unable to keep up with Valeria's pace, the Aphrodite girl slams her shield against their wrist until their fingers are forced to release their weapon. She kicks the sword away from their reach and carefully brings the tip of her blade to rest at their chest.

A slight smirk tugs at Valeria's lips when she sees the frustration on her opponent's features becoming more prominent, as they know that they're completely defenseless without their sword.

Valeria's allies have already managed to knock their remaining opponents to the ground, ensuring their small victory by holding their blades out to prevent the red team from gaining the upper hand once more.

Luke has the leader of the red team's group in the same position, keeping his grip on his sword firm as he stares at her expectantly.

She breathes out heavily. "We give up."

The sounds of defeated groans and scoffs echo from the red team, and Valeria and Luke smile at each other while sheathing their swords.

"Told you I wouldn't need a helmet," Valeria remarks, bumping their shoulders together playfully. He rolls his eyes in response.

They make their way over to Chris, who had been shoved down during the conflict. Luke extends a hand to the boy and hoists him up with ease. "I wanna move quick. Straight through the woods to their flag."

Chris points in the direction of the woods as his gaze flickers between Luke and Valeria. "Clarisse hunts in those woods for the first few hours, you know that! She's gonna cut us down."

"Like you wouldn't enjoy that," Valeria jokes, receiving an irritated glance from Chris.

"Annabeth's got a plan. Percy's on it," Luke explains. Chris' face falls in an instant, showing a doubtful stare and tilting his head back in exasperation. "When it's time, he's gonna be ready. I know it."

Valeria nods in agreement. The rest of their team has gathered around them, awaiting further instructions from either Valeria or Luke for their next move in the game. They spend another few minutes discussing a strategy for when they find the flag, followed by the decision to separate into smaller factions to scope out more possible areas of where it could be placed.

Chris and another demigod lead their groups back towards the river to weave around any possible obstacles, while Luke and Valeria march deeper into the forest with their allies following closely behind.

After almost an hour of searching for the flag passes by, Valeria finally spots the red fabric dangling from a post not far in the distance, an Ares kid and his teammates standing guard. She observes the scene carefully, noticing how the one holding the flag seems to be more reliant on his allies than himself — his grip on his sword is lazy, and his posture is neither straight nor alert. This should be fairly easy.

The brunette gently nudges Luke with her shield to catch his attention, and she tilts her head to signal for him to follow her lead. Then, perfectly timed, Chris and the other groups come rushing through the trees and directly towards the flag, the clashing of steel soon being heard along with yells and grunts. Valeria meets Luke's eye, and they hurry out from behind the wooden trunks they'd been using as cover to join the fight.

Somehow Valeria and Luke find themselves back-to-back, defending the other from any surprise attacks from the red team. Valeria swings her shield in front of Luke's shoulder when a boy tries to charge at him from the side, causing the boy to stumble away. She follows her action with a rough kick to his chest, easily forcing him to collapse.

"Go for the flag?" Luke asks, craning his neck to peer down at the girl with a raised brow.

Valeria grins up at him. "After you."

Luke laughs and swiftly advances to the post with Valeria by his side. Only three have stayed to guard the flag, though the Ares kid from earlier has tightened his grasp on his weapon in preparation for their attack.

As Valeria takes down the opposing team's defenses one by one, Luke heads straight for the flag. He briefly struggles to disarm the Ares kid, who appears to be fending Luke off rather well until he's elbowed in the ribs, which allows Luke to knock his sword down. Then he takes the opportunity to seize the flag, swerving when the Ares kid attempts to reclaim it.

"Val," Luke calls out, jumping from the rock and onto the dirt. She turns to face him after defeating the last guard, shoulders rising and falling in heaving breaths. "Let's go!"

The red banner flutters through the air as Luke sprints in the direction of the bridge leading to their territory, while Valeria orders the rest of their team to follow suit. They cross the bridge and head for the beach, where Chiron is already waiting to blow the third and final conch.

A chorus of cheers and applause erupt from the blue team, and Luke slams the bottom of the flag in between the rocks on the shore to keep it upright as a large crowd gathers around. He and Chris clap their palms together in triumph, raising their swords high above their heads afterwards along with everyone else in celebration of their fourth victory.

Valeria squeals when Luke circles an arm over her waist and spins her around, pressing a firm kiss to her cheek as a laugh escapes her lips.

"What is wrong with you?!"

Percy's enraged voice echos from the other side of the beach, leading the celebrations to fade to silence as the campers watch the scene from afar. Luke slowly places Valeria on the ground again, and they turn to find the young boy fully submerged in the lake. Annabeth stands in front of him, evidently being the one who's responsible for shoving him seconds earlier.

He pushes himself up so that only the lower half of his legs are still in the water, his clothes and armor now drenched and sticking to his body. However, as Percy remains in the lake, the cuts and wounds on his arms and face begin to mend back together. The dark bruising around his left eye returns to its normal appearance.

Then the symbol of a glowing blue trident takes form just above Percy's head, the radiant light reflecting off the surface of the waves below and making itself visible to all. Valeria glances at Luke, whose jaw has begun to twitch at the sight before them, and she knows exactly what he's thinking. Her own gut twists at the agonizing realization.

Percy Jackson — son of Poseidon.

The god of the sea has decided to claim Percy as his son, which means that he's been condemned to an undeniably cruel and unjust fate. One that determines whether or not he'll ever be able to leave the protected grounds of Camp Half-Blood without being at risk of death.

The fate of a forbidden child.