Surrppprrriiisssseeee

I've kept you all waiting...

Sorry, I would love to have an excuse about relatives or pets passing away or even moving somewhere else, but the only thing that stopped me from continuing this was the hellish amount of homework and essays we were given in the past few years.

Also, I got into manga and anime, then Hamilton, then many other fandoms starting from 2014. So, I fell out of the PJO fandom and couldn't get back into it. I've been rereading this story, but it makes me cringe a lot. I will probably go back and edit stuff later, because my 13-year-old self did not bother to research anything at all about the military and I'm too lazy to do it myself right now.

High school kept me very busy and I'm looking back at this story with nostalgia. My writing style changed a bit, so hopefully it improved. I can't quite get the same tone as before, but hope you'll enjoy this story all the same!

Thank you, all you patient readers, reviewers, favouriters, and followers!

Word count: 1488


It's Been Awhile

Danny's POV

… the sword Jonah had put up immediately. I was a bit embarrassed for being fooled about the capability of the guy, so I turned my head to stare at the ground. I heard campers whispering around me. Jonah started shouting at the sky, sounding very annoyed.

"Hey guys! Watch where ya aimin' those things! Ya coulda hit me ya know?! What were you thinking, Alpha?!"

There was no reply. I hesitantly looked up again. The ships touched down on an empty area on the beach as a few Naiads scattered with a giggle. The door opened up and a line of people jumped out. They were at different heights and had different body structures, but there was one thing in common about them: they all wore cloaks with hoods shadowing their faces.

"Are they all members of Chaos' Army?" Liliam whispered beside me.

"Probs," I answered absentmindedly.

As they passed us, the one in lead turned his head around as though sweeping the parameters. He seemed to pause in front of me. I grinned a bit awkwardly back, recognizing the tension in Alpha's frame as nervousness from returning to Earth after so long. Another figure shuffled casually at the back of the troops. I saw the letter "A" on their shoulder and grinned wider.

"Aster!" Jonah shouted, confirming my thoughts. "Come join us quick, you slacker!"

"Don't ruin our reputation," Alpha added, peering back.

"Yeah, yeah," Aster replied with a sigh, his strides quickening. His voice sounded weird… deeper than before?

The three of them were joined by another soldier, this time female, and lined up in front of the army.

"The name's Alpha. I'm the First Commander of Chaos' Army." The voice also sounded weird. I wondered if they bought some voice scrambler. "This is, as you know, Beta, Second in Command." He then gestured to the female in lead. "Gamma, Third in Command."

Aster stepped up. "My name is Aster. What I do is a mystery." With a laugh, he hopped back and merged with the rest of the troops.

"It's a pleasure to have you all here," Chiron said, brows furrowed.

I felt someone tap my shoulder.

"Wha-" I turned around and saw Aster in the distance, beckoning me impatiently. With a careful look around, I made sure that no one else was paying attention to myself and sneaked out of the crowds to follow Aster into the forest.

Aster smiled when I got nearer.

"How's my favorite kid doing?"

"I'm not your kid! I'm only ten years younger than you!" I argued.

"Haha, technicalities," he waved his hands around dismissively. "So, what's going on here? I got an overview from Lord Chaos, but I'm curious about how much the campers know."

"Well, we sure know there's danger coming! Uh... Something very dangerous, maybe on par with the Battle of Manhattan you told me about a long time ago. We're all kinda tense, but most of the younger campers here have not actually seen a lot of battles, so…" I shrugged, not quite sure how to explain everything.

"Oh no…" I heard Aster sigh.

"So how long are you staying for?" I changed the subject, eager to get back to something more lighthearted.

"Mm… A month? A week? Depends on how long it will take to beat the problem."

"Will your friends be alright?"

"Of course! Even Jonah will be right as rain and you know how he is…" Aster punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Don't worry about us kiddo! We're Chaos' Army! You just take care of yourself and the others, alright? Keep everyone here safe!"

I nodded solemnly. I was going to become a hero and protect my big family, just like how Percy Jackson and the campers did during that terrible Battle of Manhattan. Suddenly, our comfortable silence was broken by a shriek. We both jumped up in surprise.

"What the hell was that?!" Aster shouted.

I wondered about that too. I turned around and ran towards the place of commotion, Aster hidden, but close behind me.


Alpha POV

Hey, hey Jonah, that's why you should never steal my sneakers... See where that got you? I'm taking a leaf out of Omega's book, this is revenge…

I sighed in relief, it seemed no one had recognized me. I was worried my identity will be revealed right away because of my scar, but I suppose they expected a scar like the one I have on a soldier. With a deft hand, I hooked my fingers onto the strings hanging out of Jonah's hoodie, which he wore under his cloak, and dragged him in.

"Let me talk," I whispered in his ears, his loud whining skillfully covering my words from Chiron's sensitive ears, but also making me wince inwardly. "You distract them and take note of the male campers, see if you can spot any spies." He nodded imperceptibly. I straightened up, whacking his across the head. His head moved with the motion as though I struck him really hard, but that wasn't actually the case. Gamma moved in. I made a few subtle hand motion which she seemed to have understood immediately. Watch. Females. Report. Possible. Spies.

Percy had leaped off to who-knows-where after his brief introduction, but I suspected he might be trying to catch up with that kid he picked up years ago. What an annoyance he was to the army, but at least another Hermes kid had been saved from imminent death. He had been a lot younger than I was too, compared to when I went out into the streets in order to survive…

I shook my head vaguely to clear my thoughts, watching Chiron from the corner of my eyes. He didn't seem to have noticed my messages. Good. I personally knew that there could be traitors and spies anywhere. I walked up to meet Chiron again.

"Where can my subordinates sleep safely?" I asked with a serious, gruffer voice to disguise my identity. It had been very risky coming here, and speaking to someone as perceptive as Chiron was slightly nerve-wracking.

"Ah yes, follow me." He gestured and stomped (?), trotted (?), galloped (?) off into the distance. We all swiftly followed him, except Jonah, who was off to flirt with some people, Gamma, who mumbled something about checking the ship's safety, and Percy, who was still talking to the kid. We were moving too quickly for other campers to follow, so they were still in a kinda more dispersed group by the beach. As Chiron approached what looked like a temporary godly cabin, I heard a shriek in the distance. Chiron left to investigate the source of the noise. It sounded distressing, but not in the "monsters are coming" kind of way, so I ignored it. Besides, Jonah, Gamma, and Percy were in that direction, so it was not like they wouldn't take care of any threats anyway. Though if this was a commotion caused by Jonah…

I frowned. He better not ruin our reputation as a fearsome army anymore than he's already done. Or else…

I sighed and quickly entered the cabin Camp Half-Blood has provided us. It was better than the usual tents, but it was cramped tight for all of us to fit in it and get out quickly without getting stuck. I pondered for a second. Delta poked me in the back.

"You have an idea?" I asked.

"Yes…" Delta said. "Wouldn't it solve the problem if some of us took shelter in the other cabins? This way, we can protect the kids better…"

"Hmm…" I considered the idea. "That should be alright. Wait a week though. Beta and Gamma are scouting."

"Yes sir!"

I walked down the cabin, inspecting it closely. At one end, something suddenly caught my vision. I hastened my steps and strode up to the wall. I crouched down and swept the floor with a touch of my hand. There! Something protruded from the ground, a bit like a stone step, but not quite. I pressed it hard. A hidden trapdoor sprung open!

"Hmm…" I hesitated. It would be smart to inspect this opening…

"Delta, Eta, Mu!" I called. Two stepped out of the crowd, Delta straightened up beside me. "You guys will be in charge of checking this entrance. See where it leads, look for any traps, be wary of your surroundings, always be on your guard for possible attacks! Delta, map out the tunnel! I trust this task to you three, got it?"

"Yes sir!" They chorused. Good little soldiers they were. The three had been together since their first enlistment into the army. I found it endearing that they continued to be so close, but I had to send them to unknown dangers. They were skilled trappers and scouts and joined the army knowing very well of the many dangerous situations they might experience. I left the three to their planning and assigned beds for every soldier in the troop. I briefly wondered when Jonah, Gamma, and Percy were coming back, but the present task took up most of my attention. They could handle themselves, right?


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Also, does anyone know how army hierarchy work? Who's the highest ranking soldier? It's not the Commander...