DISCLAIMER: I humbly present Mr. Rick Riordan's characters! Though the plot and some of the new ones are definitely mine!

A/N: You know what? Because of your generous and heart-warming reviews, you all deserve a little bit of a treat. Besides, doesn't viewers deserve a gift of appreciation? But don't get used to it, you still have my trust on your reviews :)

I feel bad for Percy. How I do wish we could make everything better. Sadly, I am in no condition to fight evil Greek goons at the moment since I am completely and inexplicably mortal...so...Good luck there, mate!

CHAPTER ELEVEN:

I woke up, slightly wishing that I was back in my bed and that my dad, Apollo and Hermes were still bickering on the doorway. I was wrong. Chaos' worried face peered into my vision. His eyes lit up in relief as I stood up shakily off the ground. Or what I assume is the ground if you're lying in a bottomless pit with the creator of the Universe.

"Are you alright, son? You were screaming really loud." Chaos asked, anxious.

"Yeah, I—I'm fine. Just a little shocked." That was the biggest understatement ever. I wasn't just shocked. I was feeling every emotion known to mankind. The news was so overwhelming I'm a bit surprised I didn't die from some panic attack right then and there.

Now I'm one-hundred percent sure the Fates hate me with a burning passion. I just finished the Great Prophecy at sixteen and was a part of the Next Great Prophecy a year after that. And now—I get to have the Greatest Great Prophecy of all time with the Fates serving as the Oracle.

Great life I have there.

But then, Chaos said if I choose to be…What would happen if I didn't?

Chaos was staring at me with a mix of pity and surprise. "I, myself, was shocked to see the Fates gathered in my place, standing there with no care in the world. I knew it wasn't some friendly visit but I didn't expect that they delivered to me a prophecy so ancient that time cannot say when it was issued. And then we waited for a long time to happen, and now, you're here." He said it like it was miracle.

Like I was a miracle. Oh great, now how am I supposed to break the news that I'm not some freaking superhero to a very confused guy that happens to be the creator of the whole universe?

"Can't it be somebody else?" I asked.

Chaos thought it over and shook his head. "The prophecy did not specify the lineage of the child, only saying that a hero of the old is the hero of the prophecy and will save the world from unending doom, unless he perish in battle. A little bit clichéd if you ask me, but I can't question the Fates. Even I am bound by the laws. So I watched each of my sons and daughters's children since they are the most probable to possess the power but none showed potential or even a small trace of ancient magic."

I felt a bit relieved. So it can or can't be me…I was hoping for the latter, actually.

Chaos stared at me. "Well, except you."

Wow, bit harsh on their part. Just finished two wars here!

"How did that happen? I'm just a typical son of Poseidon. I can't be somebody else, especially a child of the sea with some deep magic in his guts. And as far as I know, I'm not that powerful or even old to be considered a hero of the olden times." I countered.

He pondered it over. "Prophecies are too vague to be deciphered in the beginning, Perseus. You of all people should know that by now."

I knew what he meant. In the First Titan War, I wasn't the hero whom the prophecy is referring to. It was Luke Castellan, son of Hermes, who sacrificed himself and blasted Kronos deep into Tartarus. But still, it doesn't explain the five hard years of quests I endured just to reach my sixteenth birthday.

"So, it can't be me?"

He hesitated. "I did not say that. In technicality, it may or may not be you in the prophecy. However, the Fates are justifying that it is no coincidence that you are the chosen hero."

"I'm not that hero! Are you crazy?" I know, really bad move. Sure, I take my sweet time pissing the gods off; involuntary of course, because I know they're too predictable when pissed. But you may never know what would happen with the ruler of the universe. I would hate to think how Chaos copes with anger management issues.

He raised an eyebrow. "Though I can be a bit psychotic at times, I mean no lie with what I said. You are and must be the hero of the prophecy- that I can assure you."

"How? You mean to say, the second I was born, I was destined to fulfil this madness? Aren't there others before me that could've been?"

Chaos scratched his chin. "Well, no, at your first years, I thought there was nothing special in you so I overlooked you. I went through Jason and Thalia Grace, son and daughter of Zeus, and before that with Nico and Bianca di Angelo, son and daughter of Hades, but they were as expected of what a child of the Big Three should be. Then you came along. Poseidon sired you with Sally Jackson,"

I flinched at my mom's name.

"And you were born. A true leader by blood, part man-part god by heritage, and a noble and selfless young man by choice—the makings of a hero like no other."

"So I kept an eye on you as you progress into a young man. Monsters came to you unceasingly—some wanting to devour you, others a bit curious about your scent and the strange aura that was surrounding you. So I protected you from them by influencing your mother into marrying the mortal Gabe Ugliano." I hissed at the name of my jerk of a stepfather.

"Then you reached your twelfth year of life. You were seated on a Greyhound bus with Grover Underwood, the satyr, and was forced to get off the bus after a few-er—malfunctions,"

This is strangely familiar.

"There was a stall of fruits across lanes of traffic and under the heat of the sun; you were a bit surprised why nobody noticed the fruit stand. Then you saw three old ladies knitting some giant sock, as you pointed out, not knowing that those three old ladies were the-"

"Fates. I remember now." I interrupted.

He nodded. "Yes. You saw the Fates summon their yarn and shears, unable to recognize the signs that someone is about to join the souls in the underworld. You heard the sound of death picking up his victim and thought of it as a really loud snipping sound of shears. Then your transportation was fixed and you went on your way."

"Yeah, I remember now. But how does that affect me?" I said.

He raised a hand in dismissal. "Let me finish, son. While you were safe in the confines of the bus, you didn't know that the Fates summoned another piece of a string, shorter than the previous. Then I realized that the string was yours."

At this, I was paling considerably.

"I was worried that they are going to end your life when you were the only one who has the potential to become the hero of the prophecy and I knew they were worried too. They knew that you were going to be a good hero so they were a bit reluctant to cut you string. But the Ancient Laws were not their making so they can't have any control of it. Then something amazing happened."

He was staring at me with a new glint in his eyes. Happiness. "When they tried to cut your string, they can't. Because the electric-blue string that was yours changed into different colors-Almost blinding the Fates with the light coming off of it. It was the first time that has ever happened in history. Then your string turned black with so many stars in it. I began to worry. I thought that I intercepted unconsciously because that was one of my known trademarks. But then the Fates said, and I quote, the time has come, and I realized it wasn't my doing. Rather, it was the ancient magic I was waiting for. And I didn't look at other heroes. I watched you all the time and even tested you indirectly just to prove if you were the one. And you have done so well that I don't need any other proof. You are the one."

You are the one.

Is it possible to be frozen in your previous state because your mind can't comprehend what you're trying to stick in it? Yes, it can. Because it happened to me.

My mouth was gaping open, my eyes bulged wide like a tuna being squeezed and I was sweating like crazy. Ah, the signs of unnatural shock.

If I continue being like this, I'll grow so many gray hairs I'll look like a boy who grew halfway into an old man.

I don't have to push myself into thinking such a complicated topic of strings and death if I could just accept it. There are still some things I really don't understand but I guess only time can answer that for you. I had a weird image of jumping into Tartarus and asking the jigsaw puzzle pieces that was Kronos if he could explain to me how magical strings work.

I shook my head. "Look, old man, this may not mean anything. After a few years, maybe you'll see other demigods that'll have much more magic in their system than me. I mean, I've never even have the ability to summon a chair from across the room. And this evil ruling thing, it's stupid. Evil always tried to knock good down a few pegs all the time. And trust me; I know what I'm talking about since I've done the same thing on those meanies. Besides, you said you balance good and evil, right? So why can't you balance it again and get done with it?"

Chaos pursed his lips. "Perseus, if I could do exactly just that, I would've called my army and banish them to Tartarus for a very long time and finish it if that was the case. But I couldn't-Because I wasn't the one who was supposed to do that. You are. And the doubt that you have on the 'chosen one' part, well, just have faith in me that I know what I'm talking about when I said you possess the ancient magic that was bestowed upon you."

I pondered it over. On one hand, I really hate to be this guy. He has the power to destroy Earth, literally. Who wouldn't be afraid of that? If I had a say about it, I would just drown myself in the Atlantic Ocean and join my family in peace and solitude in Elysium.

On the other, I can't leave my friends behind. I would be a jerk if I unleashed a huge wave on them and killed them just so they can't face this apocalypse. And the mortals? Well, they didn't do anything for me but they also didn't do anything against me. And there was the very tiny problem that I can't drown.

And I'll always say…To hell with choices!

I said slowly. "If I were—um, to accept the job, what would I do about it?"

For the first time, I saw mischief lacing his tone. "Why, you train of course." He said it like it was a universal fact; like how the sky is blue and the grass is green.

"Train? That's it? I've been doing that for as long as I can remember and when I heard your little background story right there, I don't think I'll stand a chance what with campers being my training helpers." I snorted.

Chaos smiled. "Not train with amateur demigods…Train, as in, train with the best demigods and immortals in history."

"The best demigods and immortals I know are kinda busy with their schedule at camp and are desperate for a psychiatrist for one of the immortals creating havoc, I think." Heracles, I cursed.

He shook his head in exasperation. "Not your demigods, my demigods. Meaning: if you, let's say-chose your destiny, I'll bring you to my base and train you with the army and myself, of course."

My eyes widened. "You, as in, you, will train me. But aren't you forbidden to interfere?"

He shook his head. "The gods' Ancient Laws concerning their demigod children doesn't apply to me since I can't have any more children. So you will consider me as your teacher like the centaur Chiron whom you speak highly of."

"Um, okay—this is a big decision. Will you let me think for a few hours and get back to you?"

He hesitated, wringing his hands together. "I'm afraid we're losing enough time as we are having this conversation and a few hours at most would be such a waste."

My heart dropped. It means that my time is coming. And I have to decide fast. I sound like Rachel, and that's a really bad thing because you really don't want to be compared to an Oracle.

"Can you give me two hours at most so I can visit my father and friends?" I didn't mention the word goodbye even if it really seems that way.

Chaos nodded and rummaged in his pockets. He pulled out a very high-tech phone with holograms and stuff that you can only see in sci-fi movies. There was no buttons and the screen was too thin to be touched. I would bet all of my money that it has some solar-powered machine gun in its small antennae.

"Where did you get that?" I gasped.

"A child of Hephaestus made it for me. It was my kind of style and made them apply high technology with all of our things, if you know what I mean." He winked.

"Uh, thanks for the cell phone but no thanks. I really don't think that would be a good idea." It was a tad too casual. Of course, it's a really bad idea. No one in their right mind would urge monsters to hound them left, right and center.

"Ah, but that is one of the perks of this technology: Anti-monster interference."

"Wow." From what I've seen of Chaos's capability, I wouldn't be surprised if he made phones for demigod-use.

"So you mean to say that this phone is mine?"

He nodded. "For the time being, yes. However, I would suggest that this technology stays between us; many of our enemies would use this to our disadvantage.

"Oh. Thanks." I smiled sheepishly and tried to put it in my pocket discreetly, which was stupid since Chaos was staring at me in amusement.

Then his smile disappeared and he stood up.

He walked over to me and grabbed both of my shoulders. "Perseus, listen to me very carefully. As your time is coming closer, events will unfold and you will almost lose hope with all the horrible things that will happen to you. And I know that some of it had happened already," He gave me a knowing look to which I returned with a grimace. "But if you begin to give up, just think of all the lives that you'll be saving. Think of it like it is your only beacon of light in the darkness. Think like the true hero that you are."

He gave me a pat on the shoulder and I felt myself being pulled back out of the darkness.