Chapter 6: Back
Dinning Pavilion
Chrome POV.
After I told everyone about Andy, we started discussing the defense of Camp Half-Blood, as well as Camp Jupiter. We decided the best way to defend both camps at once without separating our forces was to combine the camps, and right now the Roman campers were eating with us in the pavilion, Jupiter staying with Zeus, Pluto with Hades, Neptune with Poseidon, and so on.
Since there was no table for my army, I had to buy several dozen for each of the divisions, Dustin got a white table with a black cross and a helix and eye, called the Chaos crest, in the middle, Shadow had a pure black table with two knives crossed over each other, with another Chaos crest in the center, Dove and Angel had a sky-blue table with a large ship, again with the Chaos crest imprinted on the side, Zoë had a silver table with bow and arrow with the Chaos crest between the bow and arrow, Luke had a light brown table and helmet with the crest on the forehead, Ryze had a steel colored table and celestial bronze shield with the crest in the center, and I had a black space-like table with a plain crest.
Everyone was on their own tables, chatting away with their respective divisions, Dustin was tweaking his chair once again, Shadow was talking to his troops about "the grace of assassination", Luke (wearing a hood so he wouldn't be seen) and Zoë (same as Luke) were in the same table, talking softly and blushing at each other, yeah, you could almost see the sexual tension between them, Dove and Angel were working on plans for a new weapon with their other squad, Ryze was showing some of the Tankers new battle techniques, but I was eating alone on my table. You see, the rest of the Alpha Squad have a department or division, but I had none, for the number one in the Alphas commanded the entire army and the only one higher than him or her was Chaos. So, in short, I was always alone, sometimes the others would sit with me, but everyone would always go back to their tables. I was slowly chewing on my steak, my mouthpiece open so I could eat (c'mon, even all powerful warriors have to eat sometime).
I was still thinking about revealing myself to the Olympians, the mere thought made me almost break my fork in half, I had wished for this to be quick and clean, no one finding about me. But then there was Andy, he never got to meet his father, and now that I know about him, and how everyone missed me, I started to rethink on how much I hated them. Of course I hated Caleb, Zeus and the rest of the Olympians for 'killing' me, even my dad. But then there was Annabeth and Andy, they needed me the most and seemed to genuinely want me back. Speaking of Andy, he was walking over to the Athena table, but then he saw me eating alone and decided to change direction over to my table.
"Hey, Chrome, could I sit with you?" literally everyone in the pavilion, even the Romans, looked at him like he was crazy, even I did.
"Why would you want to do that?" I asked, trying to see what he really wanted.
"Dunno, everyone has at least somebody to eat with, but you're all alone. I wanted to change that." He replied, and he was honest. I checked everything, lie detectors, spirit scanners, hell, I even asked Chaos to check him, but even that came out negative.
"Fine." Andy pulled out a seat and sat next to me and chewed on his hamburger and drinking his coke. Then I noticed something, both the hamburger buns and coke were blue, and not just any kind of blue, my kind of blue.
"Blue food?" I asked
"Oh yeah, most people find it weird, you're not the 1st." he replied
"No, I mean, why is all I'm asking."
"Well, it kinda started with my mom, she told me about my dad's craving for blue stuff, something to do with my grandmother and my dad's step-dad fighting about how she couldn't make everything blue, and my grandmother started making blue food to prove him wrong." That story brought back the memory of my mom and Smelly-Gabe.
"So one day I decided to try the blue food thing and it kinda stuck." He said, pointing to his blue coke, "Hey, why's your drink blue too?"
The question caught me off guard, but when I looked at my cup I noticed I accidentally put blue coke in it as well.
Shit, I'm such an idiot. I thought, "Um…well, I did meet your dad, just once though, he showed me his blue food and let me try. I guess it got stuck with me too."
Lame excuse, he isn't gonna fall for it. I thought
"Heh, my dad, what's he like?" he asked looking at me with bright eyes.
Uhh…how do I say this? I thought, "Umm…well, your dad is brave, he's willing to do anything to help someone in need, he has no thought for material rewards, and he always seems to make people smile in the end, but he is denser than Drakon skin and always goes into something without a plan."
"Like me!" he said, smiling. Just then, the camp horns blew, signaling the end of lunch, but it blew four times instead of once. Unlike me, and the army of course, everyone looked happy.
"What is happening?" I asked to a grinning Andy
"You don't know?" he asked, I shook my head, "This is the time we hear one of dad's adventures!"
"What?"
"You see, after the war with Gaia, the muses compiled Dad's quests and adventures into nine books, five for the Second Olympian war, and four for the war with Gaia. Every month the immortal campers retell the books to the new ones, it's the only way I can feel the closest to my dad." I was shocked, they made stories of me and told it to people for the past 100 years!
"Alright demigods, time to hear one of Percy Jackson's adventures." Said Chiron to the smiling demigods, "Today's story reader will be Annabeth Chase, goddess of Architecture and minor goddess of Strategy."
Everyone's eyes were on Annabeth as she stepped forward and told my story, "Ok everyone, for the sake of the army of Chaos, we've decided to tell Percy's entire story now." She said holding up the 1st book, the title I saw read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
She literally read everything, me finding about the gods, fighting the Minotaur, meeting Annabeth, getting claimed, Medusa, Ares, everything. After telling the betrayal of Luke, she moved on to the next book Sea of Monsters, then The Titans Curse, after the Battle of the Labyrinth, and to end the Titan war, The Last Olympian.
At the end of everything, the Alpha squad had different expressions on their faces. Dustin was pale on how many injuries I got in my adventures, Shadow was almost laughing, Zoë was looking at me odd after hearing about how she was back when she was a hunter and when she died, Dove and Angel were grinning at me, Luke was looking down in shame after hearing what he did and how everyone thought of him back then, Ryze was smirking and I was chuckling on how weird I was back then.
"Now we've heard the Second Olympian War, onto the next one, the war with Gaia." Said Annabeth.
She retold everything that happened, what happened with Jason in camp, and me with the Romans. The Romans also perked up at the first mention of their camp and Jason in The Lost Hero. There were other books, Son of Neptune, Mark of Athena, and House of Hades. After that deal was over, everyone in the Alpha squad gave me looks and I was close to laughing at how stupid I was back then. Just as the House of Hades finished, the 14 Olympians (I gave Hades and Hestia thrones instead of godhood, again) flashed in, looking very exited.
"DEMIGODS!" boomed Zeus, which caused everyone, except the Chaos army to bow.
"Lord Zeus, to what do we hold the honor of you and all the Olympian's presence?" asked Chiron.
"Chiron, we have an important announcement!" said Zeus
"Announcement?"
"Yes, we have fully agreed to Chaos' help, as you can see by his full army here." Said Poseidon, gesturing to the Chaos army.
A chorus of hoorays, and "we will win" were heard.
"AND…" said Zeus, quieting everyone down, "We have the honor of knowing the identities of our mysterious helpers."
Everyone in the pavilion looked at the Alpha squad, even Andy was looking at me curiously.
"Please, Alpha Squad, step forward and introduce yourselves!" said Zeus, with as much drama he could muster and we all stepped into view of the whole pavilion.
"Well, this is gonna suck." I said over the comm-link to the rest of the Alpha squad and they all nodded in reply.
"Now, remove your hoods." Said Zeus
Dustin went 1st, he was kinda shaky because his mom, Hestia was watching, "Ok, my name is Fire eye, I'm head of the Magic and Science department for Chaos, the reason I'm in this wheelchair is because I broke my leg on one of my experiments. Despite heading Science and Magic, I'm also chief of the hospitals in the Void, our home world. My real name is Dustin Jacobs, the 1st son of Hestia." Dustin removed his mask and nearly all the gods looked at Hestia, who was crying at seeing Dustin.
"Hi mom!" he said, waving to Hestia, and she waved back. Then Dustin stepped back and gave way to Shadow, "Hello Olympians, my name is Shadow, leader of the Stealth Corps of Chaos' army." Black mist started pouring out from Shadow's feet, giving an eerie feel to the pavilion.
"Shadow, you drama queen." Said Angel over the comm-link, making Shadow growl a little.
"I am Chaos' personal Assassin, so if he want's something done, I do it. My real name is Máv̱ros Skiá (if you wanna be technical, Greek: μαύρος σκιά, English: Black Shadow), the last son of Erebus and Nyx, Primordial of Shadow and Darkness." Just then, all the shadows in the room started moving towards Shadow. All the Olympians were reaching for their weapons, but something stopped them, and from what I could see, it was their own shadows.
"Nice entrance Shadow." Said Dove
"For the 1st time, that was good drama queen." Said Angel
"Well, I do try." Said Shadow, releasing his hold over the Olympians, but still keeping an eye on them.
"Now it's our turn!" said Dove and Angel in unison. They both stepped forward and shocked everyone when their wings came out from their backs.
"My name is Dove…" said Dove, spreading her wings
"And my name is Angel…" said Angel, spreading her wings
"And we're the heads of the Chaos Air Force and Weapons Depot. Our real names are…"
"Aureola…" said Angel
"And Pinnam Cælum (Latin words; Aureola: Halo, Pinnam: Feather, Cælum: Heaven)." Said Dove.
"We're the twin daughters of Aether, Primordial of Light!" they said, showing off their wings. The gods again were baffled, three children of the Primordial seemed unheard off, and children of some of the most powerful Primordial, not a chance.
Dove and Angel stepped back and Zoë was next.
"Zoë, how much do you bet Artemis will freak out?" asked Luke
"I bet nothing…" she replied, making Luke sad, "because I know lady Artemis will freak out…a lot."
Luke chuckled as Zoë introduced herself, "Hello everyone, my name is Distance, I head the marksmen of the army, the 'Hot Shots', best shooters in the galaxy." And just to prove her point, she notched an energy arrow (think of the Quincy arrow from Bleach) and fired at a pillar next to Apollo and nailed a feather from a passing bird, ten feet away. The sun god let out a (manly) scream and everyone was laughing, especially Artemis.
"My real name is Zoë Nightshade, Daughter of Atlas and former lieutenant of Artemis' Hunt." She said, taking off her hood and shocking everyone, especially the Hunters. Artemis was bug-eyed and I think she almost fainted due to her heart rate, yes I was checking.
Zoë then stepped back and let Luke take the stage, "Hey, I don't have a cool codename like the other guys, so I'll get straight to the point, my name is Luke Castellan, yes it's the 'bad guy' from all the stories you just heard, I'm the head of soldier living, welfare and command a majority of the Chaos army."
He then took off his hood and literally all the gods, goddesses and demigods gasped at the former enemy. "L-Luke?" asked Thaila, who came up in front, with tears in her eyes.
"Well, unless you're looking at another Luke, yeah, I guess so." He replied. Thaila then went over to him and punched him in the arm.
"That was for turning to Kronos." She then slapped him in the face
"That's for blaming the gods." Luke half expected to be hit again, but instead, Thaila hugged him in a bone crushing hug, really, I could almost hear the bones breaking.
"And that's for everything else." Said Thaila
"That's great, but I don't want to die again, pleas let me go." He said, almost turning blue.
"Sorry." She said letting go
"Oh, hey dad." Said Luke to his teary dad Hermes.
Luke then stepped back and let Ryze take his turn, "Yo Olympians, my name is Ryze Bane, head combat trainer and leader of the Tankers, the muscle of the army." And as if on que, a chorus of roars and shouts were heard from the Tankers.
"I don't have another name, and I don't have a special parent… not that I can remember." He said looking downcast. You see, Ryze isn't actually a demigod, an alien, or anything. Chaos literally found him at his doorstep. No one knows how he got there, but he was extremely strong and had those celestial bronze shields on his hands since he was found. The Olympians were disappointed at Ryze's history, cause he had none, but the moment of truth for them appeared, my identity.
"Hello, you may already know me, but my name is Chrome, Warrior of Chaos. I have no special division in the army, because I command the entirety of it. I am probably the second most powerful being in the universe and could beat you gods in a heartbeat so don't get any ideas." All the gods looked angry, but they stayed in place.
"All of you may have known me once in your life, especially your immortal campers, my real name is-" I was cut short when the ground started shaking and cracked. Out of the crack spewed out a sort of dark energy, forming a humanoid figure of darkness with pure white eyes.
Another attack, this is the 3rd time in a row! I thought, slightly relieved that I didn't have to reveal myself.
"What is that?!" shouted Luke
"Demigods, I, Tartarus, wish a challenge before you perish!" shouted Tartarus
"T-Tartarus?!" exclaimed Poseidon
"Yes, my nephews seemed to be little challenge to you, considering the assistance of my father's forces. So I decided to take you all on myself, now, who wants to die 1st?"
"You don't look so bad, I'll fight you!" shouted Caleb, stepping forward
"Foolish choice demigod." Said Tartarus, pulling out a weapon with two black scythe blades stuck on opposite ends of a staff facing in opposite directions (I made this up).
The gods looked ready to fight, but something held them back and when they looked down, dead, zombie-like hands held them down.
"Hades, what are you doing?" asked Artemis, struggling against the hands.
"It's not me, these are spirits from Tartarus, I have no control over them." Replied Hades, so the gods were forced to watch as Caleb started the battle
Caleb drew his weapon, a large celestial bronze battle-axe and charged at Tartarus, launching ice spikes ahead. The spikes went through Tartarus' body, but not harming him at all, and his scythes clashed with Caleb's axe. Caleb tried a spinning attack, summoning rain to speed him up, but this also made him loose some balance and Tartarus easily knocked him off his feet and pointed his scythe at his neck.
"I didn't even have to use my powers, now who's next?" he said
The gods were about to speak, but someone beat them to it, someone I hoped wouldn't say anything.
"I'll fight!" shouted Andy, stepping forward. I also tried to step forward, but the same undead hands that held the Olympians held me down, and so I was forced to watch.
"Andy, what are you doing?" asked Annabeth, scared for him.
"Relax mom, I'll be fine." He said, smiling.
"Hahaha, is a child all you have!" laughed Tartarus.
"I'm not a child, my name is Andreas Chase Jackson, son of Percy Jackson, hero of Olympus!" said Andy, drawing his sword and going into battle stance. Now that I get a closer look, I see his sword has an inscription written on it: Ανακλυσμός βʹ, Riptide II.
"Son of Perseus Jackson, I've heard about your father, most of the things that get put down in my pit say his name all the time." Said Tartarus
"Well, they're going to be saying my name, starting with you!" he charged at Tartarus, putting him on the defensive, blocking and dodging. Andy tried to slash for Tartarus' leg, but the pit jumped, spun his scythe in the air and brought it down on Andy. He was barely able to roll away, sustaining a large gash on his left arm making it useless. Tartarus threw his scythes like a boomerang, nearly missing Andy but slicing his back in the process. He then had to block a fury of slashes and strikes from Tartarus, gaining some cuts on his arms and chest. Tartarus swiped at his feet, but Andy saw it coming and jumped, kicking the face of Tartarus and sending him back.
"Grr, you child are making me ANGRY!" shouted Tartarus, putting his hands in front of him. A black portal opened and some kind of blast made of ghosts came flying out and heading for Andy. I tried to charge and protect him, but I was still glued to the ground and watched as the blast hit Andy dead on, knocking back a few feet. But that wasn't all, Tartarus used the chance and came in close, slashing Andy from the bottom right of his torso, all the way to his left shoulder. Blood was everywhere and Annabeth was in tears, so was Poseidon.
"Shit." Said Andy before hitting the ground and bleeding out, I stared at the scene with wide eyes and before long my rage took over.
Tartarus started laughing, "Who goes next?"
"TARTARUS!" I shouted before letting my power out, everyone looking at me in fear and Tartarus with excitement.
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Dinning Pavilion
Andy POV. (Finally)
I was loosing blood fast, I was still conscious, my mom was screaming my name and Tartarus was laughing. But I felt something in the air that made my blood freeze,
"TARTARUS!" Chrome screamed, then a bone crushing pressure hit me, like a two ton weight just got put on me. I could see the Olympians staring in shock as Chrome walked over to me, a black and sea green aura radiating around him. Wait…sea green?
He then walked over to me and said something under his breath that only I can hear, "Weapon summon, Anaklusmos, code: Wisegirl."
Then holographic hexagons formed around his hand and disappeared, revealing the very sword mine was modeled after, Anaklusmos…Riptide…my dad's sword. Then he slapped his chest and his armor literally melted into his chest, revealing him for the first time. I was shocked about how he looked, his hat covered most of his face, but from what I could make out he had raven black hair, about 21 years old, and his left arm, torso, and eye were all made of a black space-like substance.
"Luke get Andy out of here, it's gonna get ugly." Said Chrome
"O-ok." Stuttered Luke as he picked me up and set me down near mom, who was staring in shock at Chrome.
"Mom what's wrong?" I asked weakly as Apollo tended to my wounds, not taking his eyes off Chrome.
Mom was mumbling inaudibly, but there was one word I could make out, "Percy".
Then realization hit me, how he protected me from the Minotaur, how he was so nice to me after mom told him my story, and how he had my dad's sword. He was my dad… he was Percy Jackson.
"Dustin, make a level ten barrier, I'm about to go 65% power." He said
"65%, b-but that's past your limit." Stuttered Dustin
"I don't care!" he shouted, Dustin just nodded and put up the barrier.
"Tartarus, you can attack camp, threaten the Olympians, even bring me back to this hellhole, but you never touch my son." He said, letting out more energy that almost put everyone to their knees and Tartarus back up a bit.
"So, your Percy Jackson." Said Tartarus, making everyone in the pavilion look at dad.
"And you Tartarus are about to be sent back to sleep." Dad replied, disappearing from sight.
"Where did you go Jackson?" asked Tartarus
"Behind you." Just as Tartarus turned around he was punched, sending him back, but dad disappeared again and reappeared in the spot Tartarus was about to hit and knocked him into the air. But again, as Tartarus reached as high as he could go, dad reappeared on top of him and boosted Tartarus down by pushing the air on top of himself and putting his feet on Tartarus, pushing both of them down with Tartarus to the ground. Dad jumped out of the hole, while Tartarus crawled out, looking really mad.
"NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!" he shouted, summoning the black portal again and firing the spirit blast.
DAD! I thought, but what came next was unexpected. Dad just raised his left hand up and absorbed the entire blast, not a scratch on him.
"My turn." He said, grabbing Riptide with both hands
"RAAAAA!" he shouted, black energy forming around Riptide. He then cut the air and a black energy slash headed towards Tartarus. The pit tried to block but his efforts were wasted when his scythe broke and the energy slammed into Tartarus, and exploding.
When the dust cleared Tartarus was literally cut in half, "H-how can I be bested by a mere mortal?"
"For one, I am more powerful then a Primordial like you, second, I am no mortal, and third, my name isn't Percy Jackson, it's Chrome, Warrior of Chaos."
Tartarus just chuckled, "*Chuckle, uncle Order was right, I did need to watch out for you."
Uncle Order? I thought as the embodiment of the pit Tartarus faded away. Everyone was looking at dad until I got the guts to say something, "Dad?"
He then noticed me and walked over, ignoring the stares of the gods and campers.
"Hey kid, you're gonna be fine." He said, giving me a smile.
"P-Percy?" asked mom, looking at dad. But then the blood loss finally got to me and I passed out, the last thing I heard was my mom telling me to stay awake and my dad's wide eyes.
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