Characters: Percy Jackson- Omega, Luke Castellan- Alpha, Zoë- Beta, Bianca di Angelo -Theta, Phoebe-Eta, Charles Beckendorf- Delta, Silena Beauregard - Gamma, Ethan Nakamura- Iota, Castor- Kappa, Lee Fletcher- Zeta, Michael Yew-Epsilon
AN: Thank you guys so much for following the story. I'm encouraged more and more as the numbers grow. I would like to give a special thanks to Child of Thanatos, for giving me the character Grady, and for being an awesome person in general. This chapter is about 3k words to make up for how long it's been since I posted a chapter. Thank you for supporting me. All of you need to keep being awesome and stay positive. Also Happy Mother's Day weekend!
Chapter 11
"Why?" Leo asked.
They were all sitting together in lounge room Leo had made. "I don't know, but I figure his first task was to get rid of me." Percy stated.
"How come some of us weren't affected by the charmspeak?" Calypso asked.
"His charmspeak is called chairekakía. It is a power passed on from Aphrodite, but very few of her kids receive it. Most receive what we call charm speak. This is a stronger form in the way that it break through almost anything, but it doesn't work on everyone as you gathered. For example, it doesn't work on most immortals and it doesn't work on most who have come close to dying."
"Sounds like you know a lot about this," Calypso replied. She was sitting with Leo on the couch whilst Percy sat on the chair facing them and that faced the door.
"That's actually almost everything I know on the subject. I had a meeting with Aphrodite and Chaos about it, and that's all we figured out." Percy explained.
"Oh," she said.
"Well, is there any way we can help?" Leo asked.
"Well, Stephen is the new leader of Aphrodite cabin, right?" They both nodded. "Alright well that doesn't help our case. How many were there that didn't believe him?"
"Not that many that we know of. Although some could have just been pretending to agree so that they didn't get in trouble." Leo replied sadly.
"Well we know that Chiron isn't affected by it, um, my Knights, Chaos, the huntresses, Artemis and Apollo, and others that we may not know." Percy counted off. If we can hold a meeting with those who aren't affected, then we can think up a plan."
"When'd you get so smart Perce?" Leo asked laughing.
"When I was training with Chaos. I need to visit my mom, Thalia, Bianca, and Nico are coming. Why don't you guys tag along?" Percy asked.
"Alright, when do we leave?" Leo asked.
"Grab hold." Percy said and stuck his arm out. They took it skeptically, and Percy mist travelled them all into the Chaos cabin in his room. "Wait here a sec, there's water on the desk." They got water and sat on his bed patiently holding their heads. Percy laughed and walked out. "Hey guys I have some guests over, who's all here?"
"Who'd you bring over?" Luke asked pausing the television. He had been watching Supernatural again.
"Leo and Calypso." He replied.
"Calypso? Wasn't she the one that was stuck on an island?" Luke asked.
"You haven't heard? She got off of Ogygia thanks to Leo, they've been dating since." Bianca said coming out of the kitchen. "Hey aren't we supposed to go to your mom's?"
"Yeah, in fact can you go get Nico, tell him Leo and calypso are coming too." Percy said. "I'm going to go get Thalia." Bianca left and went to get Nico while Percy went back to his room. "Hey guys, we have to go get Thalia and then we'll be off to my mom's"
"Can we walk this time?" Leo asked sheepishly. Percy laughed and nodded.
He grabbed his bag and pulled up his hood. They followed Percy through the cabin and and out the front door, waving at Luke with astonished faces. They made their way to the Artemis cabin and Percy knocked on the door. Zoë answered the door, "Hello Omega," she said.
"Hello, Beta, I'm looking to pick up Thalia. Is she around?" Percy asked hugging her.
"Yeah, hello Calypso, Leo." she acknowledged and then led them all into the cabin. It was almost as nice as the Shadow Knights cabin, almost. They walked in and walked to Thalia as Zoë sat down with some other huntresses.
"You ready?" Percy asked shouldering his bag, "I picked up some followers." He nodded to the couple talking to some huntresses. Well, Calypso was talking while Leo stood by awkwardly as some of the girls glared at him.
Percy chuckled and Thalia looked back. "Naomi be nice," Naomi got up and left the cabin instead. "Girls, don't make it more awkward please, he'll only be in here a few minutes as I get ready." The hunters stopped glaring and busied themselves with small tasks so as to not look Thalia in the eyes. She gathered her stuff quickly and they left the cabin. They met Bianca and Nico at the Athena Parthenos and they shadow traveled this time into Central Park. Nico sat down and Percy whistled for Mrs. O'Leary. She came in about 1 minute. Percy hoisted Nico onto her back and they set off to Sally's house.
When they were all seated in the livingroom, Percy asked what they wanted to hear first.
"Well you had just finished telling us why you left last time. How did you meet Chaos, and where did you go after?" Sally asked holding Percy's hand. Paul wasn't there because he had to grade some essays. They were having finals at his school.
"After I left I ran through the forest. I was going to come here, but Chaos stopped me when I got on the highway…"
*Flashback*
Percy ran through the bushes, pushing at the trees that got in his path. He saw a light ahead and knew it was the opening to the highway. He sprinted towards it and when he burst through the trees, he came up short. Sitting at a table was a feminine figure in a black robe, with the hood pulled up, drinking tea.
"Hello Perseus dear," she said. She had a soft voice, but it held power and so did her whole being. He found it odd to find a woman sitting at a table and drinking tea, where none of that stuff should be. "Please take a seat," she said, and waving her hand, made another seat appear.
He sat down hesitantly and asked, "who are you, why aren't you trying to banish me like the others?"
She laughed and it was a sweet sound. He wondered again why he she was here. "I'm sorry my dear. I should've introduced myself earlier. I'm Chaos, queen of the universe at your service. As for why I'm not pushing you away; I'm here to do quite the opposite."
Percy stuttered, "A- and w- what would that b- be?" He didn't know why he was so flustered, but tears started to prick his eyes as he recalled the only other girl he was flustered with, Annabeth. It hurt to think about her and he quickly wiped away the tears that were burning his eyes.
Chaos reached over and grabbed one of his hands. "Dear, don't be sad, I have an offer that will take you away from these selfish, ungrateful bastards. Excuse the language." She gave his hand a squeeze and asked, "Why don't you come live with me, be the second most powerful being, become a soldier, and be loved."
"Yes," Percy responded quickly. He felt as if he could trust this woman with his life, and it wasn't just because of her figure.
"Then come, we have preparations to make." She said opening a portal. It was purple and black, beautiful with stars throughout it. They stepped through together and made their way to a grand mansion. "This is my house and office."
"Where are we?" Percy asked gazing around, trying to absorb everything he saw. There were unicorns, dryads, giants, cats, peacocks, cows, and more. It seemed as if there was every type of animal and creature there was here. There was a garden with moonlace, strawberries, thyme, and tomatoes. He could see other gardens with more food and flowers and orchards with all sorts of trees in them. There was a community of houses and shops below the mansion he hadn't seen before.
"This is Omorfiá, my home, our home." She corrected herself. She led him up to the mansion and through numerous hallways, until finally stopping before a plain wooden door. "In here you will train and learn your new powers. I will train you myself, as that is the way you will learn the most. You're room is two doors down, the middle room being the bathroom. The room across the hall from here is the kitchen and that one to the right of it is where I sleep. The one next to it is my room. Downstairs is my office and tomorrow I'll show you my city. Right now take a bath, get comfy, and get some rest. I've had some clothes brought here for you and you have an area for weapons in your room." She stepped up to him and gave him a hug. She smelled like honey and lavender, and it was very welcoming. He hugged her back and then stepped into the bathroom for a nice, hot, epsom salt bath.
*Time Skip*
3 weeks later
"Alright, our next plan of action is to build you an army my dear." Chaos said. She had just taught him how to mist travel and now he knew all of his powers and ones that she added. "I can get you anyone, from anywhere. But, you must think of how the people must be going about their lives right now. I will get whoever you wish, but if you wish, I can choose some soldiers from my other armies and training centers."
"I want some people from my past," Percy replied wiping his forehead with towel. Chaos smiled encouragingly and he continued. "Luke Castellan, Zoë, Bianca di Angelo, Phoebe, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Ethan Nakamura, Castor, Lee Fletcher, and Michael Yew."
"That's all?" Chaos asked curiously.
"Well I think Hades will miss Achilles and Odysseus." Percy laughed. Chaos chuckled and she waved her hands. Everyone he listed off was standing in front of him, blinking as their eyes adjusted to the light.
"Welcome," Chaos said enthusiastically. "I'm Chaos and you will all be in my special army led by Percy, who has specifically chosen you all as his soldiers. You will be called the skiá ippótes,or the Shadow Knights. You will train in this room and Percy will show you all to your rooms. Percy, I'm sorry, but I have to take care of something. Your first assignment is in exactly a week, so spend your time wisely." She hugged Percy and then vanished.
"Percy?" Bianca asked. "What's going on? Where are we?"
"How are we here?" asked Castor.
"Who's Chaos?" asked Lee.
"Guys, I've been promoted from the gods' slave to the second most powerful being in the world. Second only to Chaos, who is the queen of the universe, she created everything and can make anything happen. As for where we are, we are on the planet Omorfiá. It's the first planet made and it can obscure itself from just about anything, that's why humans don't know of it yet." Percy explained quickly walking down the hall and up the stairs, the others following closely behind him. "Zoë, Phoebe, and Bianca; this is your room. The kitchen is on the middle right side, and the three bathrooms in the middle to the left. Luke, Ethan, you're in that room to the right. Michael and Lee are in the one to the left. Silena, Charles, you're in the farthest one one the right wall.
"Percy, how are we here? Why aren't you at camp?" Percy flinched as Luke asked the last question and the group behind him shared concerned glances.
"You are here to help protect the world. I asked Chaos to bring you here when she asked who I wanted in my army. As for camp, I'm not accepted there anymore and I don't want to be."
"But Percy-" Zoë began, but Percy cut her off with a wave of his hand. He had a tear glistening in his eye when he turned to face them.
"Please guys. All will be explained, but I need you to get ready for training. You'll be given outfits like mine and your preferred weapons are in your rooms." He turned around and went downstairs to wait in the training room. He knew they deserved the truth, but every time he thought about it, he got upset and then weird things happened with the water all over the planet. He only had to wait for five minutes before Bianca came in.
"Hey Perce, are you ok?" She asked coming to sit next to him. He realized he had started crying. When he didn't answer, she gave him a hug and they sat there a while as Percy gathered himself. When Zoë and Phoebe walked in they came and sat in front of him, putting a comforting hand on his knee.
"I thought guys didn't like boys," Luke said walking in with Ethan.
Percy laughed and wiped his tears away. He put a thankful hand on the other girls' and hugged Bianca back. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be breaking down in front of you guys. Bad leadership skills."
"We don't care about that Seaweed Brain, we want you to be okay," Silena said walking in, Charlie coming in behind her.
"Yeah, and we know you'll tell us with time. We know you're upset, and we knows or it feels to be sad or betrayed." Charles said. Lee and Castor came in next nodding.
"Well, should we start training?" Luke asked, walking around the room and looking at the variety of weapons.
The next couple hours they spent training, and Percy practiced his mist travel by going from person to person and helping them sometimes. They were all still in good shape considering they had been dead. After training for a couple hours, they took showers and went to the kitchen, which also happened to be a commons room. They continued this for a week until Chaos came and told them of their mission. They had to go to a strange planet and stop a war from happening.
This continued for months. All they did was train, train, train. They went on missions at least once a week, but most times more. On Omorfiá there was always something to do, Chaos have their group slack though. Sometimes the team would leave the mansion and see the other armies training and they would hang out sometimes. Everyone on Chaos' planet didn't fight each other, unless they were doing contests or stuff like that. It was nice, and the Shadow Knights liked the respect Chaos gave them compared to how selfish the gods were.
*End Flashback*
"We should get going, it's late and we don't want the harpies to attack us." Nico said, looking sadly at Percy.
Percy was hugging his mom, but he nodded in agreement. His mom kept whispering 'I love you''s to him as they sat there hugging. The others started clearing the dishes, and Percy was grateful that they were giving him and his mom space. "Oh, my baby, I'm so sorry that all of this happened. I should've noticed something was off. This is all of my fault." Sally mumbled quickly.
Percy stared at her in horror. "What mom?! No! None of this is your fault! I should've confided in you more, I should've told you what was going on, Hades, I should've contacted you after I joined Chaos!" He hugged her tighter. "Nothing is your fault mom. You are the best mom anyone could ask for, and I'm the worst son. You make me cookies, hang out with my friends, gave me siblings, married a dick to protect me, and a nice guy to protect you. You will forever be the best mom ever, and nothing can stop that." Sally choked on tears and cried into Percy's shoulder as he finished his rant. He couldn't stand it if his mom blamed herself for him leaving. That just wouldn't work for him. He hugged her back tightly and kissed the top of her head. Bianca cleared her throat and Percy wiped Sally's tears away. The group said their goodbyes to Sally and Percy led her to bed. "I love you mom," he said kissing her cheek.
"I love you too my boy," she replied slowly, her eyes drifting shut. Percy tucked her in, turned off all of the lights(except the kitchen one for Paul), and locked the door behind him.
Percy joined the others outside with moist eyes. Mrs. O'Leary was lying there, practically purring as Nico pet her. He wiped his eyes and they all got ready to leave. This time Mrs. O'Leary would be taking some people, Nico would take some, and Percy would. None of them wanted Will mad at them for making Nico all arrived at camp at the same time at the Athena Parthenos looking over the camp. Percy cringed at the power radiating off of her and took a step away. Even though he was the second most powerful being in the universe, the statue was intimidating. As they looked over camp, Bianca pointed out someone entering the camp from the other side. He was holding two swords and had a scythe strapped to his back. He looked to be about fifteen with a kind face, but watchful eyes. As he walked through the camp towards the Big House he scanned all areas.
The group walked over to the Big House as Nico explained who the boy was. "His name is Grady, he's a child of Thanatos, and a descendent of Hectra. He was on a secret mission that Chiron wouldn't tell anyone about. He's pretty reserved, he arrived about half a year ago?" As they arrived at the house first, they watched Grady walk up. Now Percy could see that his eyes were dark blue with green expanding from the pupil, and a gold ring around the center. His face became hard as he walked up, and it was such a change from his previous facial expression that Percy wondered what his personality was. He was skinny, but fit. He was pretty tall, only a couple inches shorter than Percy's 6'3. Percy chuckled as he saw Nico staring at Grady. Percy snapped if front of him as they followed Grady inside. The group laughed and Nico's cheeks burned a deep red color. They walked inside and went to Chiron's office, waiting for Grady to explain the situation, so they could talk to Chiron about it.