Fart bombs were not what Bdubs had imagined when Tango said "traps."
But fart bombs were what Bdubs got.
He supposed he had to work with them.
They went off the second the Hunters approached the border and stepped on hidden sensors buried under the snow and dead leaves. They smelled horrible, but Bdubs hadn't gotten the full effect. Some of the Hunters shot arrows that exploded into green gas upon impact. "Fart arrows!" Thalia screamed.
This had very quickly become a battle of bodily functions and Bdubs was here for it.
Bdubs backed into the crowd despite his urge to go murder the opposing team. He could do this the strategic way. He could make them go to sleep! And stop them from coming any further!
There was a small group of about three Hunters close by, who had apparently tried to sneak across the border past the main fight. They had set off a mine, and were now coughing and gagging. Bdubs decided to make them his target. He thought about sleep. He thought about putting them to sleep, specifically.
Last time, a year and a half ago, he had just yawned and thought about how tired he was.
Maybe if he did that again... but he didn't want to risk knocking out everyone there.
His concentration was broken when one of the Hunters he was trying to do magic at ran at him screaming with a knife. Bdubs had to block, because he was not in the mood to be stabbed that day.
As soon as the blades met, the Hunter collapsed to be ground. Bdubs, slightly alarmed, checked for a pulse. He was relieved to find she was still alive.
Somehow, it had worked.
"Phoebe!" another Hunter called. "Come on! Leave that short one alone and help me!"
Being called short yet again made Bdubs angry.
"HEY!" he yelled, pointing his sword at the Hunter who had spoken. "I'M NOT SHORT!"
She looked mildly amused before passing out as well.
Around Bdubs, the Hunters that were still awake had either retreated back to their side or been captured. Thalia had taken control of the operation and was working with a dryad and a satyr to tie the two captured Hunters and the two sleeping ones to a tree.
"Nice work, Bdubs." Percy grinned, clapping Bdubs on the back. "But there's something- I had a dream, I already told Zedaph-"
"I didn't know they would use fart bombs," Bdubs complained, not really registering what Percy was saying.
Percy shrugged. "Tango and Beckendorf are a force to be reckoned with when they work together. The flag is probably wide open right now, I know some of them got past us."
"The Hermes kids are doing that," Bdubs said.
"Don't you dare," Thalia yelled, stomping up to Percy. Bdubs awkwardly backed away as she scolded the son of Posideon for even thinking about going off the plan.
Instead, he looked around some more.
There weren't any flares going off along the border. They were safe, for now.
Until the one at the flag did.
"They got past us!" someone yelled.
A curse slipped out of Bdubs' mouth, and then suddenly all of the Ares kids who had been fighting with them disappeared. Bdubs and the other demigods stayed at their post, looking toward the flag in worry.
Suddenly, something hard slammed into Bdubs' back. He yelped as he was knocked to the ground.
The arrow that had hit him had a head blunt enough that it would bruise but not cut, and immediately upon impact, bronze cables shot out of the arrow. Bdubs hit the ground hard on his side, wrapped in a net of shiny rope.
"HEY!" Bdubs yelled again.
The Hunters who had attacked them in the moment of distraction laughed. A few of them ran forward to free their captured comrades. Bdubs glared furiously at them.
Percy, also trapped, stared at the creek. Water rose up and flew over their heads, drenching not only the Hunters but everyone there.
"Ha-HA!" Bdubs taunted, even though he too was sopping wet.
Other campers caught on. Dryads poofed into green mist, only to reappear close to the Hunters. Satyrs played tunes on their pipes. Nico Di Angelo threw a Mythomagic figurine at his sister, Bianca. All without breaking out of the nets.
Beckendorf threw a fart bomb at them.
It detonated. The campers knew to plug their noses. Unfortunately, the Hunters did as well.
But that wasn't all the explosive had in store.
It was like a firecracker as well as a fart bomb. Sparks flew everywhere, and immediately, Beckendorf pulled a pair of wire cutters out of his pocket and started working at the cables.
Free, Beckendorf stood up and pointed his sword at the Hunters. "You seriously think you can imprison a son of Hephaestus that easily?"
The Hunters gave him a strange look.
And then, all chaos broke loose.
First and foremost, a small group of Hunters ran towards them with a red flag. Bdubs finally realized. The Hunters who had captured them weren't trying to get to the flag, they were trying to let those who had gotten to the flag get back to the Hunter side of the creek without any problems.
Right behind them were the entire Ares and Apollo cabins, plus a few assorted dryads and satyrs, waving their weapons and yelling.
Bdubs felt the net fall away, and Beckendorf ran to go free others.
Immediately, Bdubs shouted a war cry and threw himself at the Hunter holding the flag.
The two of them toppled to the ground, both yelling. Another Hunter grabbed the flag. Bdubs immediately abandoned the girl he had tackled and went for her, yanking the red banner - er, flag - out of her hands and running away from the creek.
The rest of the campers joined the fray, hollering, throwing fart bombs, and generally making things not very fun for the Hunters. Bdubs kept running. He felt important for once.
There was a loud whoop from behind him, and the sound of cheering. Bdubs looked back just in time to see the Hermes cabin, led by Connor and Travis Stoll, leap across the creek with a silver flag held high.
Bdubs went back to the group, joining in and cheering with the rest. For a minute, he wasn't really an individual but part of a group, exulting in the feeling of triumph that came with winning against the undefeated Hunters of Artemis.
Zedaph appeared. Bdubs hadn't seen him since the beginning of the game, but was still mad at him for the chicken joke about going to the idiot's house.
Tango smacked Bdubs playfully. He fell over. "OW!"
"Nice banner," Tango said, and Ren squeaked indignantly from the son of Hephaestus' pocket.
Bdubs hit Tango over the head with it. The redstoner yelped and let out a string of unintelligible gibberish. Zedaph snickered.
"Bdubs, don't hit people with the flag, Connor, Travis, don't take inspiration from him," Chiron said, approaching the group. He was obviously trying to hide it, but Bdubs with his perfect intellect could tell that the centaur was just as happy about the victory as the campers were.
Bdubs remembered to wake up the Hunters who had been asleep. They looked around, confused at first, then their faces fell into despair as they saw that the game had ended.
Bdubs took great pleasure from that.
"Congratulations, Camp Half-Blood!" Chiron said. "And Hunters of Artemis. It was a very close call! But Camp Half-Blood has won this game!"
There was a loud cheer from the demigods and nature spirits.
And then suddenly, everyone hushed.
"I'd like to thank the Hephaestus cabin," Connor said, taking the silence as an invitation for a speech. "And the Athena cabin, for their great planning, and my own siblings-"
Nobody was listening to him.
They were all paying attention to the mummy staggering through the woods toward them.
"Gross," Zedaph muttered, though Bdubs knew he had seen grosser things.
Tango looked at it in curiosity.
Percy raised his eyebrows. "That's the Oracle," he whispered.
Thalia's face darkened. "That's the Oracle."
The campers parted like the Red Sea as the mummy stumbled straight up to Zoë Nightshade, the Lieutenant of Artemis.
There was a pause.
Approach, seeker, and ask.
Bdubs wasn't really sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn't a voice out of nowhere that sounded like a snake's hiss. It somehow both was only heard in his mind and yet echoed through the entire forest.
Zoë swallowed, overcame her initial fear, and took a breath. "What is my destiny?"
The Oracle replied,
Six shall go west to the goddess in chains
One shall be lost in the land without rain
The bane of Olympus shows the trail
Campers and Hunters combined prevail
The Titan's curse must one withstand
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Then Chiron cleared his throat. "Cabin counselors, and Zoë. Join me for a meeting... immediately. I believe it is time for another quest."