DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON OR ANY OTHER CHARACTERS.

Hi all! Back with another chapter for ya. As promised, Nico, Mrs O'Leary and Grover are coming back. Enjoy! :D

-Undetermined

Nico POV

I was kneeling at the shore of the River Styx. My father had promised that I would find an answer in one of these broken promises. But no. That was a broken promise.

Please, no! wailed the spirits in the river. Master, save us! We're innocent!I ignored them. If Hades had left them here, they deserved their punishment. I concentrated on everything that flowed in the waters - dreams, oaths, lost things - all forgotten. I needed to know who the strange figure in my dreams was.

Suddenly Hades was beside me, looking sadly at the lost souls.

"I do not know who it is, son," the god of the dead said. "But you will find answers when the time comes."

"Camp," I said, an idea springing into my mind. "I can go to Camp Half-blood."

Hades stroked his beard. "If you wish to. And, take Jackson's hellhound with you. She will guide you safely to camp."

I whistled and out of nowhere, Mrs O'Leary appeared. "WOOF!" she barked happily. She spun in circles, chewing on a rubber dog bone.

"Let's go, girl," I said, after I climbed onto her back. Then she leapt into shadows and we disappeared.

Annabeth POV

"Chaos himself?" I asked anxiously. "Then we stand no chance!"

"Um, excuse me," Sadie interrupted. "Do you mean Apophis? 'Cause we've faced him before, and defeated him."

"No, Sadie," Percy said gravely. "Not the snake demon. Chaos was the first thing to exist in Greek mythology. We've faced Titans, primordials, even Tartarus itself, but not Chaos. He's the essence of darkness. He created the world."

Carter frowned. "Huh."

"All things considered, we must be careful," Chiron said. "If Chaos wants the destruction of the gods and human race, he will create mass armies, including the giants and Titans."

"Can he hold against strong magic?" Zia asked. "If I do say so myself, we are powerful magicians. If he is weak to it - "

"I don't think he is," Percy said. "If any of the things we've faced were weak to other mythologies, we would've won, like, millions of times."

I looked at the books on the shelves. None of them were named Tips and Tricks to Kill Chaos Itself!. Sad. Books were always the greatest source of information.

"If past studies are correct, Chaos will useaeternae, empousai and even more monstrous terrors." Chiron trotted around the shelves, pulling out a book that was titled, The Most Vicious and Bloodthirsty Monsters in Existence. He flipped to a page and set it on the table, giving me a chance to look at it.

Cetea. One of the most terrifying creatures in the olden days - one had even been sent by Poseidon to terrorize Troy. If we were facing these...

Percy seemed to be thinking what I was thinking. "Maybe I can control them, though? I'm a son of Poseidon."

Chiron shook his head. "Chaos must have trained them to resist the power of Poseidon. Be it as it may, you are a child of the sea god, but these creatures are of ancient blood, from depths deeper than Tartarus."

"I remember seeing Chaos from Nyx's palace," I commented. "It seemed so... alive."

"Wait a sec," Sadie gestured her hand at us to pause. "You saw what, now?"

"Chaos," I said. "He was almost awake. If - "

The Big House exploded in dark matter.

Zia POV

I felt a warm hand on my arm, shaking we conscious. My eyes fluttered open and I realised it was Carter, trying to get me to move away from the black mass of fire that had once been the camp's Big House.

"Zia!" he cried. "Get up! They're all safe. C'mon." I grabbed his hand and got up.

The horse-man being, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were waiting for me at the dining pavilion.

"I haven't gotten to introduce myself!" the centaur said, galloping over. "I am Chiron, the director of this camp and mentor of many ancient heroes, like Odysseus and Achilles."

"Oh, sure," Percy grumbled. "Leave out the heroes of this century."

Annabeth punched him lightly. "We don't do it for recognition, Seaweed Brain." He grinned. "I know, I know."

And of course, when things started to get better, the mood lightened and everything, something had to break the peace.

The dark matter swirled together and formed a figure, like what Zia had seen in her dreams.

"Demigods and magicians working together against a hopeless cause. How pathetic." Chaos's voice rang out in the camp, bringing silence everywhere. "Do you give up hope, so I make your deaths quick and painless?" The manifestation snapped his fingers and Percy and Annabeth were flung backwards. They flew far away, to who-knows-where.

"Chiron, Zia Rashid, Carter and Sadie Kane," Chaos mused. "So pleased to meet you all. I hear you are the wisest centaur of millennia, Chiron? And you magicians... Egypt is weak."

At these words, I instinctively roared in outrage and charged him. Raising my staff, I screamed, "Ha-di!"

However, Chaos just flicked his fingers and I felt myself thrown backwards, crashing into the armoury...

Zia. Zia!"

Nico POV

Mrs O'Leary howled as we sped through endless shadows. I could sense it... we were so near...

Finally, my/Percy's hellhound burst into the night air, materalising in the middle of the woods. All of a sudden, a geyser spouted from the ground, and would have drenched me, but all of a sudden it paused an inch above my head.

"Wonders never cease!" a voice cried joyfully. I turned to face a humanlike spirit floating slightly above the ground. He seemed to be controlling the boiling water.

"Pete, what - " another geyser spirit joined him. "Why, my goodness! A child of the Underworld!"

Pete interrupted me. "You may not know us, young demigod, but we are palikoi, singular, palikos. We're geyser gods that control the water around here! I'm Pete, and that's my brother Paulie!"

I studied the gods. "I've heard of you. Apollo said - "

"WOOF!" Mrs O'Leary barked loudly, trying to touch Paulie with her paws. However, when she withdrew a paw, it only came out wet and steaming.

"Hellhound! Son of Hades, what about you makes monsters come to you like this?" Paulie shrieked. He summoned a geyser that might've almost burned up the innocent hellhound, but I stepped in front of her.

"Mrs O'Leary is friendly," I pleaded. "She just wants to play."

The deity reluctantly withdrew his water. "But I'm watching it!"

Pete frowned. "You know, Nico di Angelo, your hellhound really isn't good for tourists. Anyway, how do you rate the woods of Camp Half-blood on a scale of one to ten?"

"I'd say a seven," I replied. "Other than those myrmeke neighbours we have down the hill."

"Oh, they've gotten friendlier," Pete replied, his expression brightening. "They hardly even eat demigods now. That's, say, a 97% chance that they don't? The remaining 3% is when they have a shortage of food and are starving."

"Ah." My stomach felt like mush. "Can I go into camp now?"

"Yes, yes." Paulie waved his hand and I felt myself and Mrs O'Leary pulled into the campsite. "Have fun! Make sure to rate again tomorrow!"

Sadie POV

Oh, Chaos, that little scumbag. Tossing Zia away was not cool. And Carter, being the caring boyfriend he was (and sister-abandoning, ahem), rushed to her side. That left me and Chiron alone.

"So! Should I deal with the centaur or the magician?" the primordial said cheerfully. "Maybe the horse. Yes, that'll do."

But in that split second, Chiron drew and shot his bow so fast I only saw a blur. The arrow sailed over my head, and...

Chaos caught it.

He then threw it back at Chiron with inhuman speed, and it knocked the centaur down with its butt.

"No!" I screamed. The horse had been my only hope and defender left.

However, it seemed, Carter finally realised what was happening. He said something to Zia, who nodded weakly, and dashed towards Chaos.

Ha-wi!" he cried. Strike. A jet of pure light flashed towards Chaos and engulfed him, but the elder god just laughed maniacally and waved it off.

"Is that all you have?" Chaos asked incredulously. "After so many millions of years, you Egyptians are still so backward in magic?" He sneered. "Time to die - "

All of a sudden, a howling sound pierced the silence. "AWOOOOOO!"

An enormously large dog fell from nowhere and knocked Chaos down. The beast began chewing on his feet, head, body - everything. He tried to get up, but it sank its teeth into his chest, making him cry out in agony.

"ACKKK! WHAT IS THIS - BEAST - ARGH!" Then a boy landed perfectly on the dog's back. Wow. Even I didn't have such pro skills.

Then he pulled off his hood, and I was awed.

He looked so much like my boyfriend Anubis/Walt, god of funerals. Black hair, pitch-black eyes... wow. But there was a cold side to his face, like he was a savage, chaotic murderer.

"NOOOO!" Chaos roared as his legs were bitten off by the hound. "This is only a small manifestation of what I can do! I am always in power! I am - " Then the big dog devoured him.

"You are vanquished," the boy said calmly. Then he turned to ne as though nothing happened. "I'm Nico di Angelo, by the way. Pleased to meet you."

I shook his hand. "Sadie Kane."

Suddenly, a random guy burst out of the woods, looking panicked. He had... oh jeez. Goat legs. I started to think he was a cursed dude or something, when Percy and Annabeth hobbled over. They both seemed fine, except for some cuts and scratches.

"Perceeee!" the goat boy bleated. "I have some news for you, bud."

Annabeth glanced at me, Carter and Zia, then back at the goat boy and Nico.

"We'll talk in the dining pavilion," she decided. "We need to introduce you magicians to the rest of camp."

Carter POV

"So who, now, entered camp?" Clarisse La Rue demanded. "These people aren't even demigods!" The crowd murmured in agreement.

"Clarisse, I know it is hard to understand," Chiron said pacifyingly. "It will be all right. We must defend our camp from Chaos, and to do so, we must join with all sides."

"So, we've got nature spirits coming from all over the place and telling me stuff," Grover the satyr said nervously. "Apparently yesterday, the statue of Zeus's Fist just sank into the ground. Just like that. Zeus wouldn't have done that."

Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks. I didn't like that. Usually when they did that, they were either strategising a battle plan, or planning a date. Sounds weird? Welcome to my world.

"And we can't afford any more casualties," Grover continued. "Yesterday, over a hundred dryads and satyrs went missing. Completely wiped off Long Island Sound. And there was another case, five empousai came along and killed dozens of nymphs until we managed to hold them off."

"That isn't good," Zia murmured, leaning her head on my shoulder. I have to admit, having her around me is soothing. Her prescence is just... nice.

"Carter, we have to gather up the House of Life," Sadie said. "They'll be able to help us out."

"Therefore, for now, seek out everyone you know," Chiron said grimly. "We are desperate for all the help we can get."

Just then, I heard Percy saying, "Why don't we get your cousin around here?" Annabeth nodded.

Cousin?

Alright, that's it! I guess you already know who the cousin is. Once again, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Make sure to favourite and review!