{ ' I BECOME SUPREME LORD
OF THE BATHROOM ' }

002. . . ( capture the flag )

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...        𝐂apture The Flag was a very serious game at Camp Half-Blood. It held strict rules and people practiced for it all week. Except for Pandora. She was never very enticed by the idea of fighting a blood battle over a piece of coloured fabric, unless it was to finish a dress she was working on. That's the reason why archery was so good for her; it allowed her to do damaged without getting too close to the realness of things.

But, there was also times when she got very passionate about Capture the Flag. The first time was the first year she was here, and she successfully helped her team to victory, then she put less effort in the next year. In her third year, she tried desperately hard, and it payed off in a victory. However, last year, she didn't participate at all, choosing to sit in a tree for four hours, making daisy chains and drawing designs for possible clothing items she could make. She was so lost in what she was doing that she hadn't even noticed the ending of the game, and she had campers looking for her all afternoon, until Annabeth Chase found her.

Annabeth Chase was a good friend to Pandora, but the latter often found herself getting annoyed at how fierce and headstrong she was. Although, she couldn't say much, as she herself got that way too when people mentioned specific things.

"You're going to love this." Luke smiled at Percy as they walked through a field, over-looking the training that the campers were doing. "Camp-wide, mock warfare: all glory to the victors. Annabeth's the head counsellor of the Athena cabin. She's led our team three straight wins, been a long time since anyone's won a fourth."

"She was there in the bathroom." Percy recalled, watching the brave girl train her cabin mates. "She said she'd been waiting for it to happen."

"Annabeth sees the world differently. Always six steps ahead of everyone else." Luke said, turning to look at Percy instead of the surrounding training. "You should cut her a break."

"Who's side are you on anyway?" Percy asked, looking over his shoulder and then back to Luke.

"Oh, hers, always." He nodded, "She's my little sister. Maybe I should back up."

"Pandora, would you focus!" Freyja's scolding voice yelled out. The two boys turned to look at what was causing the stress of Aphrodite's head counsellor.

The tanned girl was running through the grass, laughing with another boy, around her age, before falling into a. . . ballroom dance with him? Luke and Percy furrowed their brows, perplexing.

"You're supposed to be charming them with lust, not love!" Freyja reminded the girl, who simply laughed it off.

"But love is so much more fun!" Pandora grinned, spinning around in the strangers arms clumsily.

"Ah, they're practising amokenesis." Luke chuckled, watching his other little sister with a content smile.

"Amoke-what-now?" Percy said, watching the daughter of Aphrodite prance around stupidly. He held a small glare on his face, watching as the random boy placed his hands on her hips again. Percy clenched his jaw.

"Amokenesis." Luke repeated. "The ability to control love, desire, lust. All that stuff."

"Yes!" Freyja suddenly jumped and clapped her hands giddily.

The Lamansoff girl had the boy pinned on his front, his hands behind his back as she straddled his tail bone. She held a small, silver dagger to his neck, using the grip on his hair to keep his head levitated in the air.

"We looked away for a second!" Percy exclaimed, looking at the scene in shock. He watched intently as Pandora stood to her feet and brushed the dirt of her knees, not even bothering to help him up.

"She's good. Better than you'd think." Luke smiled fondly. "Everyone sorta looks down on Aphrodite's kids, but they don't realise how powerful they are. I mean, come on, if Pandora wanted to, she could have anyone on their knees in a second — Charmspeak. It's crazy that she has it at such a young age, or at all. Aphrodite doesn't usually let her children have it." He shrugged, laughing as Pandora clapped her hands victoriously. "They can all manipulate minds into loving whatever they want. It's crazy what they can do."

"How are they going to help us win?" Percy asked, a small laugh escaping his lips as he watch Pandora dance around again. She looked ecstatic.

"Distractions." Luke shrugged. "Lure in the other team, flirt with them until we've got the flag. It's not like the red team would be able to tell. When you're under amokenesis you never know, it's just like. . . love is all you've ever known."

"Well, I think Pandora still has me under her spell." Percy blurted out before he could realise what he'd just admitted. He'd just admitted that he felt in love with Luke's sister.

Luke chuckled loudly and patted him o the back. "Everyone thinks that, but it'll wear off in a few days. You get used to being around Aphrodites kids."

'I really don't think it will.' Percy thought to himself as he observed the way Pandora moved with such agility. She rolled out of somersault and positioned herself on her knees before releasing an arrow almost instantaneously. Bullseye.

The training ended soon after, and the blue team gathered together for a short while to regain strength stamina. Pandora spotted Luke and Percy talking so she walked over, sitting beside Percy.

"Me and a forbidden kid I met along the way; her name was Thalia." Luke told, and Pandora immediately knew what story she was about to hear. She practically knew it off by heart, even though she wasn't actually involved.

"But what does that mean? Forbidden." Percy paused the story.

"Along time ago, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades agreed their children were becoming too powerful, so they made a pact to not father anymore. And it held for a long time until Zeus broke that pact." Pandora clarified, she had unintentionally sat so close to Percy that his right side and her left were constantly in contact. Their biceps, their thighs, their feet. "A forbidden kid attracts trouble. Monsters everywhere, it's just a constant battle to stay alive."

At this point, Pandora stopped speaking, allowing Luke to continue on with his story about Thalia and Annabeth. "One day we, uh, find this little girl hiding in an alley: Annabeth. We were worried about taking her in, exposing her to all that danger. But then we saw her fight." Luke laughed softly before dropping his smile. "Thalia didn't make it. But Annabeth and me. . . we did. And we've been family ever since." Luke then turned his attention to Pandora, who was smiling sympathetically. "Then this troublemaker shows up at camp a year later and we've got no choice but to take her in!" He reaches over and ruffles her hair, bringing some humour and light-heartedness to the discussion.

"Don't do that!" Pandora hit his arm, flattening her hair and brushing her fingers through it.

"Annabeth's been watching me since I got here, why?" Percy questioned, it seemed to be all he did.

"Annabeth is the strongest warrior in camp. The only way left to prove herself is to go on a quest." Pandora said, putting her arms on the table, the silver charms of her bracelet tickled Percy's skin, but he didn't move.

"What does this have to do with me?" He pushed further.

"Chiron's been promising her for years. One day, a demigod would arrive who was fated to go on a quest that even Chiron couldn't prevent. And when that happened, she'd join it." Luke explained. "Every new arrival, Annabeth watches, looking for a sign they're the one. Usually, she gives up after a day or two, but she's still watching you."

"Well, can you ask her to knock it off?" Percy requests, making his two friends laugh. Pandora's head rolls to the side, resting on his shoulder as her back moved due to her laughter. Percy's cheeks fade to a deeper red, almost matching that of her nails.

"Yeah, sure. But what if she's right?" Luke challenged.

The sound of a conch shell blowing ends their conversations, and draws everyone's attention towards Chiron, who glances around at the demigods. "Heroes. . ." He looks down at his pocket watch. "It's time. The game begins!"

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...        𝐓he two teams were now gathered in the forest, glaring at each other across the rushing stream that separated them. They were each dressed in golden armour, one side sporting blue accents to their clothing, and the other, red. Pandora hated the feeling of wearing armour, even more so than she hated the look, and she really hated the look.

"The first team to retrieve the opposing flag and return it across the river shall be the victor." Chiron called out, instructing the children on how to win, although most of them already knew this by now. "As always, there will be no maiming and no killing. I trust these rules will be respected. Any magical items you may possess, are permitted as well. Every camper who is not injured has to play. Prisoners may be disarmed but may not be bound or gagged. Let the games begin!" The second blowing of a conch shell signified the start of the battle.

The red team roared loudly, trying to intimidate the blue team, but Pandora just scoffed and rolled her eyes. That was seriously ineffective. Annabeth turned to look at her, nodding in the direction of the red team.

Pandora scoffed again, "I am not screaming like a lunatic at them! Do you know how unattractive that is?!" She heard a slight giggle and turned to the side to see Percy covering his mouth with his shield. She made him laugh, and it wasn't even intentional.

"Alright, we have 20 minutes before the second conch, and game on." Annabeth started, approaching Luke, Pandora and Percy. "You know what you're doing?"

"Yes ma'am." Luke nodded sharply, starting to walk off before Annabeth called him back, leaving him with encouraging words.

Percy goes to follow, when he is stopped by Annabeth. "Not you sunshine, you're with me." She then turned to Pandora, who looked very unimpressed with the whole waiting around. "You got your job?"

"Yes, Beth." She sighed, hands on her hips. "Wander around the woods, try not to get caught, flirt with a few boys on the other team, then hit 'em where it hurts."

"Is that not like. . . I don't know, prostitution?—"

"Seduction, Perce, get it right." Percy's heart fluttered at the nickname she had claimed for him.

"My girl." Annabeth high-fived the daughter of Aphrodite, shaking their hands after.

The woods were eerily quiet as Pandora walked about them, kicking loose stones and dragging her fingers along the barks of trees. Part of her wants to climb them and pounce down on the opposing team, but then she remembered what happened last time she hid in a tree during Capture the Flag.

It had been ten minutes of solitude before a very built boy walked on the same path as she had. She swiftly ducked down behind a bush, watching him look around the woods cautiously. An idea popped into her head on how to seduce him, and the thought of it only made her smile excitably.

Pandora walked out from behind the bush with her hands held in surrender, "Please, don't hurt me! I want to help you win."

"Huh?" The boy asked, putting his drawn sword away and approaching her with soft eyes. "Are you okay?"

"No! I'm just— I'm so scared, and I really need a big strong man like you to save me!" She cried, walking up to him and placing her hands on his shoulder.

"Really?" He asked, completely entranced by her.

Her pillow-soft laugh faded off as she gritted her teeth and raised her knee swiftly, hitting him in the groin. "No, not really." She stole the sword from his belt and threw it into the fern, it disappearing beneath their thick, large leaves.

He doubled over in pain, clutching the area between his legs in pain and groaning. "You bitch." He coughed.

Pandora glared down at the boy, unsheathing her own sword and shoving the butt of it into his nose bridge. A loud crack filled the air and he exclaimed in pain, one hand reaching up to clutch his bleeding, broken nose. "I guess you're right about that one." She shrugged nonchalantly, before pinching the top of his ear and dragging off into the woods, the pull on his hearing organ making him seethe in pain.

Along the way back to the rest of her team, another member of the red team had come across Pandora and the bloody boy. She gasped, quickly putting on a front. "He attacked me first! Please help."

"Michael, she's a liar, man! Seriously!" Her captured boy gasped out.

"I know, her little mind games won't trick me." 'Michael' sneered, pulling out his sword and stalking closer. "My dad knew all about your mom, said marrying her was the worst thing he ever did. He told me everything, and how she was a dirty cheater!"

Pandora let out a yell of rage as she swung her sword forwards, making Michael swing his up to block. She was in a fit of fury as she battled with the opposing team. How dare he reject her? How dare he overcome her charms? How dare he speak of her mother like that?

She wound her sword around before accidentally clashing it against a tree, causing her blade to get stuck in the trunk. She let out a curse as she tried to pull it free, but to no success. Michael kicked her knee, forcing her down, before placing his in her face, knocking her back onto the ground.

She coughed and spluttered, her stamina on its last legs as she returned to her feet, weaponless, tired and limping. A sudden, raw scream cut through the woods, and the two enemies stared at each other, before Pandora legged it towards the sound, hoping that it was where someone could help. As she realised where she was running, she found herself at the shore of the lake, staring as Clarisse held Percy by the collar of his shirt.

The fight was quickly over as the blue team came charging down, waving the red flag around victoriously before planting it into the gravelly sand. Pandora joined her team, flipping off Michael and his teammate in the process. Elio wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed her bicep comfortingly. He always knew when she wasn't okay.

Percy sunk to his knees, breathless and stunned at his win.

A short conversation pursued between him and Annabeth, before she shoved him back into the lake. He stood up with anger and shock. "What is wrong with you?!" The blue team turned to look at the sound of conflict.

Percy's hand shot towards his face at the feeling of his scars disappearing. The water was healing them. The water was healing him.

"I don't understand." He whimpered, his bottom lip quivering from the low temperature of the lake.

Everyone's eyes drifted upwards as a glowing trident hovered above his head, Luke and Pandora shared knowing looks before returning their eyes to Percy's claiming.

"Your dad's calling." Annabeth completed for him, smiling as she was finally right. She had found the one.

"You have been claimed by Poseidon." Chiron announced, "Earthshaker. Stormbringer. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

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...        𝐍ight fell over Camp Half-Blood, making the nature-built paths be illuminated by torch fire, and a singular glow being seen in every cabin window. Pandora had hidden in her cabin all day after the game. Although she won, she still couldn't get Michael's words out of her head. How he wasn't effected by her amokenesis. Was it not strong enough? Was she that weak? That she couldn't force a teenaged boy to be in love with her? They were always the easiest, the most pathetic. All Pandora ever wanted to be, was good enough her mother, but this just ruins it all. All this hard work to live up to the expectations of Aphrodite, is crushed by a singular sentence.

"Hey, 'Dora." Freyja called out, knocking on the wood of bunk. "Loverboy's here for you."

"Who?—" Pandora sat up, turning towards the door, a small smile falling onto her face at the sight of her favourite messy haired blond. She slid out of her bed and made her way towards the door, closing it behind her as the pair sat on the step together.

"Anyone would've guessed that he's the son of Aphrodite, not her." Josh snorted, only to be smacked on the back of the head by Freyja.

Percy cleared his throat before speaking, "I. . . have to go on a quest. A quest to return Zeus' lightning bolt. "And. . . I've been told that I can take some friends with me. . . I choose you."

Pandora's head lifted immediately, almost giving herself whiplash, "You want me to go on a quest with you? Why?" The fact that she was already in a bad mood from earlier, now mixed with the stress of having to go on a quest, was not mixing well in her head.

"Well. . . I. . . don't know, actually." Percy furrowed his brows as he tried to think up an answer, but he didn't know how his words had come across.

"Great, well let me know when you do know, yeah?" Pandora rolled her eyes, standing up and turning to retreat to her dorm. "And it'll be a no anyway." She said stubbornly.

Pandora hadn't left the safety of Camp Half-Blood since she arrived there, and she didn't know if she was ready to leave just yet, let alone with a forbidden child. But even then, Percy still had no reason for his choice.

All she wanted him to say was something uplifting. Something complimentary. Something to make her feel good about herself. Something to make her believe that he actually saw past her being Aphrodite's daughter. She wanted him to call her brave, or smart, or funny, or intelligent.

"Wait! Dora—" Percy practically teleported to his feet as he sensed the mood switch. "I like being around you!"

Pandora spins back on her heels, a frown on her lips. "Well, everyone likes being around a child of Aphrodite. Everyone loves having something to marvel at, to stare at like they're a picture in a damned museum!"

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, concern laced in his voice. He cautiously stepped closer to her, not wanting to set her off more. "Do you wanna. . . talk?"

A small cry escapes her lips as she sinks back down onto the step, huddling her knees close to her chest. He takes a seat beside her and shuffles closer, their thighs and sides touching for the second time this day. She wraps her arm around his, resting her cheek against his forearm as she sniffles.

It's silent for a while, until Percy realises that she doesn't want to talk about what made her upset, so he speaks instead. "I like being around you. Not just you, but you. You're funny and really smart."

"You mean it?" Pandora wipes her cheeks, looking up at him, her chin rested on his bicep.

"Wholeheartedly." He grins down at her. "Besides, I need someone I actually like and trust on this quest, I can't just be stuck with Annabeth." He nudges her with his knee, making her giggle.

"What about Grover?" Pandora asked.

"I might have to pull a few strings, but I'm getting all three of you to come with me." Percy states firmly.

The four of them, on a quest together. Doesn't sound too bad. . . Right?

"This rains kind of annoying, no?" He asked, watching a small puddle form at the bottom of the stairs.

"You, the son of Poseidon, are annoyed by a bit of rain?" Pandora quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I'm just saying, we just had a storm two days ago." Percy  laughed, shaking his head as he did so.

"I like the rain. It's nice." She said simply, observing the way the sky darkened and the trees leave soaked. "It makes me feel safe. Comfortable."

— 𝒋𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔

HELLOOOO???? THAT END
SCENE????? WOW IM ACTUALLY
OBSESSED WITH THEM

PERCEDORA IS SAILING AND FLYING
RN LETS GOOOOO!!!!!

also fuck michael smh.