New York Heroes

Prank War (A Relevant Title?!)

Blossomdawn, here ya go!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Camp Half Blood, The Next Day

Annabeth, Chiron, Grover, and Reyna were playing Pinochle on the porch of the Big House. It was a beautiful day outside, but what day wasn't inside the camp's borders.

Chiron sighed contentedly, "It just hasn't been the same around here since everyone left."

Annabeth smiled, "I know what you mean. At least it's been more peaceful with everyone gone." Chiron just laughed.

A group of Hermes's children ran towards the woods. They were laughing, which is never a good sign. Suddenly, a chorus of screams, both angry and fearful, erupted from across the camp. An angry horde of Ares campers appeared with weapons in hand, still shouting as they stormed towards the woods.

"Calm down!" Chiron shouted over the cacophony. "What's the problem?"

Clarisse stepped forward, "We're sick of those tricksters and their stupid pranks! They've insulted us for the last time!" Her siblings roared in approval.

Chiron sighed, "Their pranks may be upsetting and immature, but you can't attack them every time they do something."

"Why not?" a boy from Ares shouted. "Those little snots deserve to get their butts kicked!"

Chiron started to talk again, but Annabeth stepped forward. "If all they want is payback, then I have an idea."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that Day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every demigod (and superhero) in the camp was gathered around the fire pit. Chiron and Annabeth stood in front of everyone with their plan for a new kind of war game.

"Everyone hates the frequent schemes that come from the Hermes cabin," Annabeth started. "From hate stems thoughts of revenge, which could be constructive if used to improve our skills and teamwork."

"Um, Annabeth?" Percy said from the front of the crowd, "You sound really serious. How crazy is this idea?"

"I have Chiron's permission to test it tonight instead of our usual games."

Chiron spoke up, "I believe it would drastically lengthen the lifespan of the Hermes cabin as a whole."

The Hermes campers shifted uncomfortably. "If that's the case, then I think we should try it," a girl from the group said.

"You don't even know what it is!" Dakota said, downing another swig of Kool-Aid.

"Well, I'm sure Annabeth and Chiron will tell us," the girl said, turning to them, "right?"

Chiron nodded. Annabeth continued to explain her idea. "It's a prank war," she said. "You want to get back at the Hermes cabin? Out-prank them. Beat them at their own game."

At this point, Annabeth paused for a moment. When no one started to protest, she took a deep breath and continued, "The competition would last a total of two hours. Each cabin, and each cohort, is one team. Your goal would be to prank the other teams without getting pranked. Chiron and Reyna will run a scoreboard. Scores are based on the number of pranks executed and the number of pranks you've been a victim of. Pranks must be nonlethal. No centaur blood or Greek fire is allowed. At the end of the time limit, the team with the highest score wins. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I got one," an Ares camper said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "When do we start?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~10 Minutes Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~