-Annabeth POV-

Away from my former prison on Olympus and back in Percy's room, I was able to relax. Just being back at the place I had spent so much time crying, yelling, breaking things, and missing Percy made me want to run away. Looking up at Percy, I saw that he was smiling down at me with an expression of absolute adoration. I looked into his beautiful sea green eyes and realized for the first time that there were subtle spots of white and black in them. If I had not been less than a foot away I would have never noticed, but being this close to them, there were hard to miss. I tilted my head to the side in confusion and asked,

"Percy why do you have specks of color in your eyes?"

He laughed and replied,

"That comes with the story I am about to tell you. Have a seat Wise Girl."

I sat down on one of the couches and he sat on the opposite edge of the same couch. We both leaned against the arm rests and he pursed his lips, probably wondering where to start. After a few moments of silence and me staring in awe at his perfect face he said,

"I suppose I should start at the beginning. After I was exiled I was on the run for a little while. My last few moments on earth were in that alley you found Riptide in. I was about to be killed by a group of monsters when Chaos showed up, killed them all, and gave me the choice to remain on earth or to go with him. No longer having any ties to earth, I gladly accepted. He took me to two realms so that I could turn into the person I am now. The first was the Realm of Creation…

- Line break -

A couple hours later, Percy had finished his story and we were now laying on his bed together. I now knew just exactly what Percy was. My fiancé had complete control over all matter in the universe and controlled a formless space called the Void that just so happened to be the prison of Order: the corrupter of the universe and brother of Chaos. Percy had explained that most of Angels had been people he saved from various forms of oppression. Alexandra, the girl who had asked about the day off had been saved by Percy from a bounty hunter in sector 5. She had grown up on a planet of female warriors and one of her rivals in the upper ranks had wanted to eliminate her due to the upcoming officer elections. The rival had hired a famous bounty hunter to kill her but months later was shocked to find out that her bounty hunter had been killed and her rival had disappeared.

"She lost the election in the end and died a few decades later. But Alexandra was loyal, honorable, and devoted to excellence so she lived on as an Angel of Chaos," Percy had said.

Apparently Percy had saved Aurora: Leader of Beta squad. She had been dying in a street and Percy saved her, yet another person who owed their existence to my best friend. There were other stories or crazy ex-boyfriends, corrupt governments, and Angels being saved from exploding suns. All the stories ended the same, my Percy saving somebody he didn't know, and that person becoming eternally loyal and loving to Percy. I said in amazement,

"Earth is too small for you, not enough people to save and protect. You had to extend your sphere of compassion and goodness to the ends of existence."

He scoffed and shook his head replying,

"You make me out to be a saint, yet I have killed many."

Still after all this time he was so hard on himself. Even after saving billions he focused on the negative. I said,

"Percy you listen to me. I don't believe for a second that you have ever murdered anyone. Killing somebody in the name of justice and to save somebody is totally different from taking a life without reason."

He smiled slightly and nodded his head, succumbing to my reasoning.

He had told me about how he had been transformed when exposed to Creation and the Void…

"Creation was like the light and heat of a trillion suns all packed into one small space. As I evolved I began to see the Orbs of Existence. I began to see the sources of power for all beings that had supernatural abilities. Then came the Void. Annabeth Tartarus was nothing compared to the Void. I would have taken a lifetime in Tartarus over the time I spent in the Void."

I was shocked, I remember Tartarus as if he happened last week. It took months for the nightmares to stop. Not being able to imagine a place worse than Tartarus I asked,

"Gods Percy, what was it like?"

His eyes darkened lightly, and I don't mean figuratively, I mean literally. The black spots in his sea green eyes grew and for a moment all I could see was blackness, the green color I loved so much was gone. Slightly scared I asked,

"What was that?"

His eyes immediately went back to their sea green and he smiled apologetically saying,

"I'm sorry sweetie, the memory of the Void is not one I care to remember. The color of my eyes reflect my mood. If I am happy, they are a bright sea green as you have seen since revealing myself. If my mood is neutral they are a darker green. When I am angry or thinking about a terrible memory, they turn a horrible black color. And when I am using the full extent of my power, they turn dark purple. The Void is everything Creation is not. The Void is silent, and dark. Completely lacking of any light or sound. What's worse is the affect the Void has on your body, you feel like your very cells are being ripped apart violently. The Void is formless, so when there is an object in the Void, it tries to deform the object. Only four beings have ever experienced the Void. Chaos, but he was born partly from the Void. Order, who remains there in his eternal suffering. Myself, but Chaos was with me even though I didn't know it at the time. So even though I should have faded from existence, I endured to the point where I could survive without his aid. Lastly is the primordial Erebus. Long story short he caused the deaths of trillions in the Great Galactic War. His punishment was eternity in the Void. Chaos still feels his presence there so we know he continues to suffer."

Horrified at the idea of anybody being subjected to that kind of punishment for eternity I asked,

"Percy how could anybody deserve a fate such as that?"

He smiled and looked down saying,

"I had a similar reaction when Chaos told me that. But I will tell you what he told me. Imagine all of the pain, suffering, death, and evil that exists in the universe. Now imagine one singular being was responsible for all of it. Chaos created the universe to be perfect, no death, pain, or sadness. But when Order tainted creation, evil was formed. Every death, every time you felt pain, every betrayal, every form of evil can be traced back to Order. When you stop to think about what things would be like without his interference, the Void seems like the only justified punishment for such a being."

I was quiet for a moment, taking that in. I thought about all the deaths in history, the doubt, the sadness. It still didn't quite add up. That changed when the centuries of pain and suffering I had endured came back to me. I thought about the sleepless nights, the endless years spent crying. I tried to imagine a universe full of that pain, suddenly it make sense, it added up. I guess Order truly did deserve that fate. Percy added,

"As far as Erebus, he committed endless murder, rape, thievery, and other atrocities. His actions mirrored the actions of Order, just on a lesser scale. For that he was sentenced to the Void. I was hesitant to administer that punishment initially, but his lack of remorse and pleasure he exhibited forced my hand."

Percy stared into space for a few moments. I could only imagine what was going through his head. He had seen horrors beyond imagining while protecting the universe. I snuggled closer to him and rubbed his back. After being lost in memories, he looked over at the clock and made a sour face. He said,

"It is 1:50, the Angels will be finishing field training in ten minutes. I wish we could stay here longer, but I must address the soldiers."

I smiled and replied,

"It's alright, I understand you have duties other than to me. May I come with you?"

He pursed his lips and replied,

"Annabeth I have a very serious question to ask you."

I tilted me head and replied,

"What is it Percy?"

He looked down for a moment then looked back up and said,

"As heir to the throne of the universe, I will someday rule everything. This means that after the war is over, I must return to Genesis. My question is this: after the war, will you come with me?"

I laughed and grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. Pulling back I said,

"You complete seaweed brain, of course I will. We will be married soon and besides, I could not bear to be parted from you ever again. I will gladly come with you."

That seemed to make his day, he beamed at me and said,

"Thank you Wise Girl. I have been turning a thought over in my head and tonight I would like to consult Chaos about it. I have been thinking about creating a new squad in the Angels, an Omega squad. After the war, some of the campers will want to come back to Genesis with us. I cannot take them all, taking them all would leave camp without the necessary defenses. But the heroes of the second great prophecy, and Thalia will most likely want to join us. It will put our numbers above the usual six thousand. I would like to add a seventh squad, and I would like for you to be its leader."

I was stunned, putting the fact that this was Percy aside, the Commander of the greatest army in history was asking me to lead a new squad in said army. Being by Percy's side for eternity was my definition of a happy ending so naturally I wanted to. But I had doubts which I voiced to Percy.

"Percy you know that is the best thing that could happen to me. But I must be honest, I am neither worthy nor powerful enough to lead such a squad. I am merely a minor god."

Percy looked at me strangely, as if he was trying to understand why I refused. After a moment he said,

"Annabeth the Leaders of the Angels and myself began as demi-gods excluding Aurora who wasn't even the child of a divine being. None of us were powerful enough to rule the army of the Creator. But Chaos took us, and through training, divine gifts, and Chaos passing his essence into us, we were made strong enough to rule. It will be no different for you. As Allistar, Commander of the Angels of Chaos, I fully believe nobody could better lead the new squad than you. Of course I would want to wait until after the war to make this announcement."

I could not believe it. I went from being about to fade one day to being offered a place at the love of my eternity's side. I began to cry softly as I answered,

"Percy I would be overjoyed to accept. A place at your side forever is something I have thirsted for since the day I realized I loved you."

He smiled and after kissing me passionately said,

"Alright, time to go."

Both of us jumped up and within a second were both gone, on our way to address my future brothers and sisters.