Chapter 12

Alpha's POV

Do you know that feeling when you want to bump your head against a wall for being so stupid? Or the one that the world will be better off without you?

It isn't a pleasant feeling. Trust me, I speak from experience.

I was wide awake now. Everybody was looking at me fiercely. Several demigods brandished weapons. The air around Thalia was cracking dangerously. Clarisse brandished a sword from nowhere and Annabeth looks like she wants to bear hug me to death. The only ones who didn't look menacing were the Stolls, who were wiggling their fingers, obviously getting ready to steal some wallets once chaos ensues.

I stood up from the couch. Sapphire looked at me like a deer caught in headlights. She was clearly surprised. It seemed a little backwards, I was the one who was going to be in big trouble if I got busted. If I do get busted. I could probably slip right out of here, without any of the demigods even noticing. But something didn't feel right.

I looked to the wall at my right. There was two windows, both looked brittle and could break if I applied the right amount of force. Maybe if I run at full speed and . . .

I took another glance at Annabeth. Her eyes held something, a mixed look of guilt and happiness. It was like she wanted to see me, but she also didn't want to face me.

Clarisse threw her sword at me, but it missed. I didn't even need to dodge. I just stared at her. She shook her arm briskly and I realized that she had been more tired than she looked. She stood up and grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and held me as tightly as she could.

Nobody else made a move. I was still staring at her. Was that hurt in her face? Guilt? Anguish? Maybe all three. I've never seen Clarisse like this. She was always one of the toughest girls I knew. And the way she's acting right now, it only happened when she took out Riptide. Was this because of me?

"Stop looking at me like that!" Clarisse roared in my face. "I hate it when people do that. They think I need their sympathy, especially that Percy Jackson."

I still remained silent, which was a bad idea because she kept talking. Maybe I should think of a smart retort to shut her up.

"Tell me," she said while everybody asked. The question they all wanted to ask and the answer to it. "Are you Percy Jackson?

"Maybe," I said softly, which earned me good punch to the face. I didn't mind it though, there was a much more important feeling at the pit of my stomach. My senses were tingling. My anxiety was rising.

Clarisse could've done more to me if Thalia and Chiron didn't held her back. "I don't care if you're the General of Chaos or whatever! You're a big jerk. I hope that punch wiped some of your arrogance away," Clarisse said.

"Stop it child," Chiron said. "This is hardly the time for that. You should apologize – "

"Never", Clarisse cut her off.

BOOM! A loud explosion rattled. It shook me out of my reverie. The anxiety I felt earlier at my stomach, it was rising slowly and I felt it vibrate on my whole body. My head hurts, everything going red. I clutched my chest and went down. I heard screams.

More explosions came from outside. Why now? I saw Sapphire and Annabeth leaning over me. Sapphire pressed her hand onto my forehead and started chanting something. Magic. Annabeth tried giving me some Ambrosia. I ate it without hesitation.

The wall of the Big House to my left suddenly exploded, sending some demigods flying. Some ran for the door and went outside to find safety. Only some remained.

Something was right outside the hole in the wall. It was walking through it and went inside the Rec Room. When I saw him, not it, I wished I could just stab myself with a dagger.

A boy bout my age was standing there, arms crossed. He had brunette hair and green eyes, but not like mine. It was more . . . leafy green. His arms had a few scars and he raises one eyebrow, looking very impatient. He looked at me instantly and smiled a little too deviously.

"Oh, another hoodie guy? I saw some of you guys out there. Of course, they were no match for me," he said proudly. Something in my head was ringing, like I should know this guy.

"Who are you and what have you done to camp?" Annabeth was still checking up on me, but she looked like she wanted to rip the newcomer's head off.

"Don't you remember me Annabeth?" The boy asked, feigning hurt. "How could you? I surely don't forget the girls I kissed before." He smiled again and I felt myself tremble. Nobody talks to Annabeth like that.

I managed a sitting position and faced him. "I'm sure girls don't forget the shame they feel after the kiss. They probably wash their mouths with soap eight times after that too."

"Don't talk so tough," he said furiously. "I kicked the butts of guys who were wearing the same clothes as yours and I'm sure you're just as weak as them."

I wanted to fight this guy badly and send him directly to Tartarus, but Sapphire was holding me down. "Don't. His power . . . it's like Chaos'".

She sounded afraid. Maybe I should follow her advice. He was staring at Annabeth, and I hated this guy even more.

Thalia activated Aegis, Jason took out his gladius and Will aimed his bow, straight at the guy's heart. The boy only laughed and held out his arms, as if telling them to try but nothing would happen.

"Alpha," Annabeth whispered. This was the first time she called me by my codenamed, which means it's dead serious. "I know who this guy is." She shook me while not taking her eyes off the boy.

I told her to go on.

"Remember when he said that he kissed me," she said and I frowned. Memories came back to me and the picture I was seeing in my head was just plain ugly. "I've kissed only two guys in my whole immortal life."

"Only two? Well, does it suck to be you".

"That's not the point. It was only Percy Jackson and . . . his brother."

Brother. Ding ding ding. Finally, I knew who this was. Gaea said that we were going to meet, but I didn't expect it to be this fast. In some ways I was mad, but I was also kind of glad. I can finally take revenge and show him what I could do with Chaos' power.

I drew my sword and lunged at him. At first I thought it was going to be an easy win, but he intercepted my strike just as quickly.

I rolled to one side and started landing blows at Ken. Slash, jab, parry, roll, duck, dodge, block, slam. We were evenly matched, or maybe not. I still haven't fully recovered from the headache I experienced earlier, and every strike made my arms go numb.

I lowered my guard for a bit and that was when he striked me. I tried blocking it, but he was too fast. Pain surged through my body as his sword stabbed my stomach. I feel down, panting.

Everybody looked worried. Jason looked ready to help me, but I shook my head at him. Let's face it, if a Chaos Warrior can't beat Ken, what can regular demigods do?

I stood up again. I was not careful, that was all. The hole on the wall was behind me now. Outside, lots of space. Maybe some Chaos Warrior can help me too, like Stephen or Drake. All I know is that I can't face this guy alone I in my present condition. Before I could even jump outside, I felt a kick at my chest and the next thing I knew was that I was flying outside. I crashed into a large tree and heard some bones in my body crack.

Ken went outside slowly. "Is that all you've got? I was right, you were just another weakling hoodie guy."

I glared at him. Last time I checked, my brother can't even beat a dryad in sword fighting.

"Where did you get this much power," I asked. "How did you beat all those Chaos Warriors without even breaking a sweat?"

Ken just laughed maniacally. "Where do you think? From the greatest Primordial, Gaea, of course. She gave me power in exchange for my unswerving loyalty. Nobody can refuse power, especially if it's this much."

Gaea. Shet.

I ran towards him and slashed my sword as hard as I can. He just blocked it easily. His strength, it was overwhelming. Some campers and conscious Chaos Warriors came to watch our fight. They all looked scared.

Annabeth, Sapphire and all the others came out of the rec room, looking frantic. Can't blame them, I was losing and the worst part was that I was losing to my brother while everyone was watching. It felt like losing my life all over again.

I willed all of my remaining strength to come out. I need it, If I was to take down this guy. I am not losing my life again. I repeated that in my mind all over again. Nobody is taking anyway from me. I am going to protect everyone that I hold dear, even if it means sacrificing my life.

I gathered all of it. I'm betting everything into this last blow. Standing up, I headed for Ken and feigned to one side, but he didn't eat it. I spun feigning blows to the left and right, moving constantly so that Ken might get confused and lower his guard down a bit. His eyes blazed as he was watching me. With no other choice, I struck my sword. He blocked it, crushing all my hopes.

But the moment our swords met, a large gust of wind rippled outward our clash. No, not a gust. It was more like a blast of wind, just like a raging tornado. The wind ruined my hair and jacket. I felt my hood fall off, but it wasn't my biggest worry. Ken wasn't any luckier, the force of my strike was strong enough to launch him off is feet and send him flying.

I saw him fall down, but he didn't stood up again. Maybe I won or maybe merely knocked him out. Chaos Warriors were swarming over his sprawled body. I saw Jade carrying some Black Chains. It can nullify some magic and certain abilities.

I felt my vision darken. My hands felt numb. I felt all my strength evaporate into nothingness. My legs felt wobbly and weary from standing. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Annabeth's face, really happy.

Gaea's POV

"You sure the kid can do his task properly?" Moros asked me.

Moros was the Primordial of doom. He was wearing a leather jacket with hidden bombs everywhere. His boots had metal spikes and his face looked weathered and his eyes were purple, the color of dead people.

"I'm sure he can," I said with confidence. "How hard could it be? Only some pesky demigods and Chaos Warriors. Nothing my Champion couldn't handle.

"I wasn't worried about them. I was talking about Granfather's own Champion. Alpha, isn't it? You heard what he did to Erebus. If he had that as much power as Chaos himself, then how are we going to win this war?"

I frowned. "Moros, you are the Primrdial of Doom. I chose you to accompany me on my own quest because this is your specialty, bringing terror and sending people to their doom. Besides, I was getting tired of Erebus and his meaningless failures."

"Yes, but my mother," he gulped. "She wouldn't be very pleased if I hurt Grandfather or something. And what we're gonna do would surely hurt him in more ways than one."

"Screw Nyx," I said. "You supported me because you know my side was going to win right?"

"Well, that was the idea. But your husband still hasn't fully woken. What chance do we have without him?"

"Stop doubting our victory, you'll jinx it," I said to shut him up. "I sent Ken to Camp Half-Blood for only one thing. He was to be a diversion while we go into Chaos' Headquarters in outer space. Without his General and one of the squads gone, our success is almost sure."

"Almost?" Moros leaned in, obviously displeased by the slight chance of us screwing up.

"Almost," I grinned and looked at the guests at the corner of our room. There were three of them, all wearing robes that looked like rags. Their faces were sour and scared after the torture I did to force them to cooperate with us. They were also one of the keys to our success, we needed full cooperation. "If the Fates can do their job properly and subdue Chaos before he can stop us."

The fate on the far right corner knit a pure black yarn. The middle one took out a huge air of scissors. I smiled in spite of myself. Perfect.

"All that's left is to meet Father. Come on, Moros. Time for a family reunion."