4. Arrival

Thalia/Alpha's POV

I already knew that our next mission was on Earth, but I acted surprised right along with the rest.

"Really?" I asked.

Percy- Omega, whatever, I don't care- nodded imperiously. After a thousand years, he was getting good at acting all emotionally detached and whatnot. It was kind of creepy.

Luke looked nervous. I didn't blame him. He was still kind of a rough topic on Earth. I had forgiven him nine centuries ago, but some of the immortal leaders probably still hated him.

Silena and Beckendorf were excited. They hadn't wanted to die, but they had accepted their deaths. However, they still missed Earth.

Zoë and Ethan looked supremely indifferent. Neither cared much about Earth, but they didn't hate it, either.

Bianca looked slightly happy, but she stuck with Ethan and kept her cool.

Lee, Clarisse, Michael, Malcolm, Connor, and Will looked excited. They loved Earth and missed camp.

Reyna and Dakota looked happy, but slightly out of place. They missed their own camp, and being surrounded by Greeks made them feel awkward.

Nico looked nervous. He kept glancing at Omega.

Of course, Omega had some of the worst memories of Earth. He was taking it the hardest.

Nico and I could see under his hood, and he looked calm, but his eyes were filled with pain. Those eyes were Percy's eyes, not the emotionless eyes of Omega that were all the others could see. He was still Percy, deep in his soul.

"We're leaving in two minutes," Omega announced.

Immediately, everyone started flashing their bags over. It took about thirty seconds; everyone has one bag that looks small but carries anything and everything they'll need. Magic, kind of like the Hunters' bags… but I'm not a Hunter anymore. I have Luke.

When everyone was ready, Omega said, "Well done. It only took forty-five seconds this time. We'll be a minute early."

And with that, he closed his eyes, and I felt a tug, as though his subconscious was pulling at my subconscious. Then, in a flash, our home disappeared, replaced by a large room.

Our hoods had been pulled up while Omega flashed us here, so I could see the stunned faces of all the gods as they stared at the seventeen dark figures that had appeared in their throne room, but all they saw were emotionless eyes- green, blue, black, brown, etc.- and dark armor sucking the golden light out of the room.

But the gods weren't the only ones in the room. I turned, and when I did, I saw none other than Annabeth Chase.

I couldn't breathe. How was she still alive? Wait, didn't Omega mention that the leaders and senior cabin counselors were given immortality after the Giant War? They must have, because Annabeth was standing there, eyes wide, next to Piper, Leo, and Jason. Jason, my little brother…

No, Thalia's little brother. I'm Alpha.

Ah, whatever. He'll always be my little brother.

Frank, Hazel, and a lovely chestnut-haired girl who looked less surprised than the rest of them were also there. The third kept glancing at Leo, who had a strange look on his face; a mixture of surprise and sadness.

Omega stepped forward, drawing my attention away from my friends. Addressing the gods, he said, "Hello, Olympians. I am Omega, and this is my Elite Squad."

Silence greeted this announcement.

Then my father leaned forward and asked, "And for what reason are you here? Where did you come from? Who sent you?"

Omega held up a hand. "All will be revealed in due time, Lord Zeus. And as for who sent us…" He stepped aside to reveal a black portal. Through the portal, I could see a million galaxies, a zillion stars, places I'd been to that the gods could never even dream of seeing.

And out stepped a woman. At first, it was hard to see her. Her long, elegant dress blended perfectly into the background of galaxies. Her deep black hair and starry eyes did the same. However, when the portal disappeared, everyone gasped. They saw her.

Omega knelt. The rest of the Elites, including myself, followed suit.

"Lady Chaos," Omega said.

The Olympians and demigods gasped. Then they all stood and bowed.

"At ease, people," Chaos said, smiling slightly. "We have more important things to do than bow to me, though that is a worthy pastime."

I smiled, and I sensed the rest of the Elites, even Omega, cracking a grin. Chaos hated being bowed to.

All of the people in the room stood.

"What is it that is so important, Lady Chaos?" Zeus asked. I smirked slightly. My father was not in his element. I could see it in his eyes.

The smile on Chaos' face died immediately, replaced by the grave look of one who is attending the funeral of a loved one. "Tartarus."

The name dimmed the room even more. A cold wind swept through the place, whispering in Chaos' voice: Tartarus. Tartarus. Tartarus.

"The pit?" Hades asked. The gods and demigods began muttering amongst themselves.

Only Poseidon and Annabeth said nothing. Even after a thousand years, they still grieved for Percy.

I glanced at Omega. While he seemed calm and in control, I noticed that his eyes- Percy's eyes- kept straying towards them. The others could not see his expression, which was pained.

I caught Delta glancing over at him. He had noticed as well.

"Yes," Chaos said, bringing my attention back to her. "The spirit of the pit is rising. Monsters are growing stronger and smarter. Your only hope lies in my Elite Squad." She gestured towards us. We stood up taller and nodded at the gods and demigods. Only Omega remained motionless.

"The team is led by Omega, my champion." At the sound of his name, Omega nodded tersely.

"Omega is the second most powerful being in the universe, so I wouldn't make him mad." She gestured at Delta and I. "These two are Alpha and Delta, Omega's lieutenants and most trusted advisors." She gestured to Luke, my boyfriend. "That's Sigma, another trusted advisor and third in command, since Alpha and Delta are tied for second in command." She pointed at the rest and named them in turn. "That's Beta, Gamma, Eta, Zeta, Epsilon, Theta, Rho, Iota, Kappa, Omicron, Tau, Chi, and Xi. If they wish to reveal their true identities, they may do so now."

I glanced at Delta. He nodded. I nodded back and removed my hood.

Gasps echoed around the hall.

"Hello," I said calmly, "I am Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and adopted daughter of Chaos."

Then Delta removed his hood. Far more gasps.

"The name is Nico DiAngelo," he said lazily. "Son of Hades, adopted son of Chaos."

One by one, the others removed their hoods.

"Bianca DiAngelo," said Beta. "Daughter of Hades."

"Silena Beauregard," said Gamma. "Daughter of Aphrodite."

"Charles Beckendorf," said Eta. "Son of Hephaestus."

"Zoë Nightshade," said Zeta. "Daughter of Atlas and Pleione, ex-Hesperide, ex-Lieutenant to Artemis."

"Ethan Nakamura," said Epsilon. "Son of Nemesis."

"Lee Fletcher," said Theta. "Son of Apollo."

"Reyna Avila Ramírez Arellano," said Rho. "Daughter of Bellona, ex-praetor of Camp Jupiter."

"Dakota," said Iota. "Son of Bacchus, ex-centurion of the Fifth Cohort."

"Clarisse LaRue," said Kappa. "Daughter of Ares."

"Connor Stoll," said Omicron. "Son of Hermes, brother of Travis, prankster extraordinaire."

"Malcolm," said Tau. "Son of Athena."

"Michael Yew," said Chi. "Son of Apollo."

"Will Solace," said Xi. "Son of Apollo."

There had been many surprised gasps throughout this recital. Now everyone focused on Sigma. On Luke. My Luke.

With a shaking hand, Sigma removed his hood. He did not look up. He kept his face hidden in shadow.

Still, I heard the surprised gasps from Hermes and Annabeth. Of course. Those two knew Luke's hair.

"Luke Castellan," Sigma muttered. "Son of Hermes."

Total silence.

Then Hermes stumbled forward and hugged him.

"Luke," he whispered. "Son."

Sigma's eyes filled with tears. "Hey, Dad."

Then Annabeth walked forward and hugged him.

"Hey, Luke," she said softly, tears in her eyes.

"Hey, Annabeth," he responded.

I noticed Omega clenching his fists. Even though Sigma was dating me, Omega- no, Percy- was still jealous when Annabeth hugged him as Luke. Heck, I was a little jealous. I knew how close they'd been.

After that, everyone started hugging. Artemis came up and greeted her ex-Huntresses, including Bianca and I. Apollo greeted his sons. Hephaestus greeted his son. Ares and Aphrodite greeted their daughters, who remained best friends, even after death and recruitment to the Elite Squad. Dionysus became Bacchus and struck up a conversation with his son. Nemesis and Bellona appeared to speak with their supposedly dead children. Then my father came over, with Hades by his side. Hades went to Delta and Beta (Nico and Bianca) and started to talk to them. Zeus walked straight up to me.

"Thalia," he said.

"Hello, Father," I said coolly.

Zeus nodded and said, "I'm glad you're alive."

I smiled at that and said, "You know what? I am too."

All of the campers came up to us, too. Jason approached me as if he thought I would disappear at any moment. Then he decided I was real, but only after hugging the life out of me.

Annabeth came to me as well. She took one look at me and just started crying. She hugged me and she wouldn't let go.

"You're here," she murmured. "You're here, you're alive… and if you are, than he probably is, too…"

It didn't take a genius to figure out who "he" was.

Omega had not escaped the attentions of the gods and demigods. Now, as they finished up their greetings, they all turned to face him.

No one but Delta and I noticed, but there was a shift in his stance. He went from relaxed to onguard.

"And who might you be?" Zeus asked curiously. Omega tensed.

"I would prefer to leave my identity a secret, thank you," he said softly.

I heard a snort from the vicinity of the demigods. Someone muttered, "What a wimp."

I turned to the demigods, my eyes fiery. No one insults Omega. All of the Elites are fiercely loyal to him because he's saved our butts more times than we care to count. That goes double for Delta and I, because back when I was Thalia and he was Nico, Percy was always saving us. We owe our lives to him ten times over.

A boy stepped out of the crowd. He had green eyes that weren't at all as green as Percy's and hair that wasn't as black. He wasn't as tall or as tanned and he certainly didn't have the same aura of power. He had enough of an aura for me to be able to tell that he was Poseidon's son.

Poseidon didn't even glance at the boy. I hadn't really noticed just how awful the god of the sea looked. His hair was graying, his skin wrinkled, his eyes dull. He was missing his favorite son.

"I'm Brad," said the boy. "And I called you a wimp, Omega." There was a cruel twinkle in his eyes. "Are you afraid of our reaction? What, are you disfigured or something? Ugly? Bet you are. I bet you feel especially awful next to someone with looks as exquisite as mine!"

Brad, huh? Well, he wasn't a troll. In fact, he was kind of cute. But Percy- Omega- oh, Hades if I care, he is far handsomer than Brad.

Wait. He just insulted Omega.

I tapped my bracelet. My shield, Aegis, grew to full size on my arm.

Brad saw it. His eyes widened in fear. They were the color of polluted water; murky, dark green. Dirty and mucky and disgusting.

Sigma drew his sword. Eta had a huge battle axe. Gamma held her poison perfume and unsheathed her dagger. Beta grabbed a hunting knife from thin air. Zeta and Theta drew their bowstrings and aimed at Brad. Delta unsheathed his blade of Stygian Iron.

I let my spear grow to full size and pointed the tip at Brad's chest. My eyes were narrowed as I whispered, "How dare you. Omega is not afraid of anything. If he doesn't want to reveal himself, he doesn't have to."

I turned to Omega. Instead of seeing anger in his eyes, as I expected, I saw pain. And realization.

"Afraid," he murmured, and for the first time in a thousand years, he sounded like Percy. "Not afraid of anything… then why did I leave?"

The throne room was silent.

Annabeth stepped forward. She had heard him.

"Leave?" she asked, confusion and frustration written on her face and woven in her voice. "You've been here before?"

Omega looked up. I realized that the Mist under his hood had dissipated slightly. Not much, but enough for us to see the humorless smile that graced his face. "You mean they never mentioned me? Or do they forget the moment they're over the borders?"

Silence. Then a small voice whispered, "Omega?"

A little girl, no older than five, stepped forward. Her eyes were wide, but she was smiling.

"Omega," she repeated.

Omega's eyes widened. "Mia," he replied.

Another child stepped forward, a boy this time: "Omega."

Omega smiled. "Danny."

"You know this man?" my father thundered in shock.

Both children nodded.

"He brought us to camp," Danny explained. "Not even two hours ago, he brought us to Half-Blood Hill and said that we'd probably never see him again." The boy's voice lowered. "He saved us. He was the last person we saw before we entered camp."

Omega nodded. "I am always the last face seen by new campers who were attacked. My mission is to save them. I am also the last face seen by my enemies. That is why I am called Omega." He seemed to be making an agonizing decision. Then, his eyes trained on the floor, he removed his hood.

Mist still swirled around his head, but I knew everyone could see the jet black hair. It was getting long again, but it still stuck out all over the place.

As the Mist faded away, I saw the tanned skin. It was scarless. He was invincible in battle, not because of an Achilles heel, but simply because he was stronger than everyone but Chaos.

As his features became clearer, many campers and gods gasped. They knew the gentle slope of that nose, the long lashes, the shape of the forehead, the full lips…

Then the Mist disappeared completely, and Omega stood before everyone, exposed.

He opened his eyes. They were bright green, just as I remembered.

"I was once Perseus Jackson," Omega announced. "I was, and still am, the son of Poseidon. I was Retriever of Zeus' Master Bolt, I traveled the Sea of Monsters, I withstood the Titan's Curse, I fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth. I was Savior of Olympus, Hero of Olympus, and Survivor-" And here he shivered slightly. "-Survivor of Tartarus.

"However, Percy Jackson is dead. He died when the heroes you see around you died in the war, only to be resurrected. He died when he saw the carnage he caused. Most of all, he died when Grover Underwood, a satyr who could not be resurrected, died in the war. I am Omega, and Percy Jackson is dead."

With that, Omega disappeared into an ocean breeze. That, too, dissipated, leaving nothing but the smell of sea salt and the tear-stained faces of many, including one grey-eyed demigod and one green-eyed god, behind.