Back on Terra Firma

As I was sucked back into reality, my world turning on its top, I found myself and the Captains miles above the surface of the Earth. As the portals opened randomly in the sky, dropping us before snapping shut again – with the light sound of pop rocks from my childhood memories – we stared down at the demigod camp. Or maybe up? Because, of course, Chaos dropped us off upside down.

My first thought was filled with annoyance at the creator, because it was, "Seriously? Couldn't he have aimed better?"

However, before any of my three brain buddies could answer wittingly, a second thought crashed its way into my head. It, unlike the first, was far less reasonable, because it was, "AHHHHHHHHH!"

The ever-trustworthy gravity of Earth took effect and we began to plummet. The wind whipped at my face, whistling in my ears so loud that everything else was blocked out. I could nearly feel my skin being ripped off my face as we accelerated towards the ground.

I felt only slight panic because I remembered that I'd be able to survive, but the other soldiers must've felt differently because they began to spread their wings in a desperate move to catch themselves before I stopped them. I might still be upset with them, but not even I would risk using my wings as a parachute without proper preparation.

"Let's make an entrance," I said to them telepathically. Smirking slightly as I sent images of what I wanted them to do, I thought, privately, "This is sure to give the campers one Hades of a scare."

Following my directions, the others tucked in their wings, the white feathers rippling like leaves in a hurricane against their backs. I vaguely felt my uniform flapping heavily back and forth on my legs, but it was almost surreal because the deafening roar of the wind made it silent.

As our descent continued, I could easily tell that our speed had become intense. Flames formed around us as the captains fell into position around me. Our diamond of winged men and women was coated in an inferno; small blazes flickered around us. To lighten our landing and to shield us from the burning heat, I uttered an incantation under my breath, feeling the power flowing through me as a shield manifested itself, blocking us from the fire. I'm glad I did; we would've fried otherwise. Well, they would've.

Suddenly, a loud bang – louder than the wind's scream – echoed in my ears. We'd broken the sound barrier, and it was almost as if some primal creature had sensed it and bellowed a ferocious announcement of our arrival.

Obviously, down below it was lunchtime. There was a multitude of campers in and around the dining pavilion, mingling with one another as they ate. At least we'd have the wide-open space of the field nearby, where we would be able to land without any relative damage. Most importantly, though, we'd be able to make a dramatic entrance – as I'd planned.

And so, we landed, creating a rather large crater. It wasn't very deep since each of us landed at the same time. That made sure the crater was wide, throwing a cloud of dust in the air, but there was only so much displacement of the earth we could do.

Standing, I sent pulses of my energy to the others as I sensed their weariness. The landing drained them, understandably, and since it had been my idea, it was only fitting that I made sure they were in a fit state. They were my captains after all, and I oversaw their activities and was responsible for their well being.

As the dust cleared, I brushed off some dirt from my uniform. It was non-existent, of course, because the uniforms were all equipped with frictionless material to repel such things as dirt. It helped when on planets that had heavy soil and sandstorms because after days of the desert, it would become tiring to drag ever sand dune along on one's shoulders.

Campers had gathered in the short time that it took for us to land and the dust to clear. I commended them – silently in my head – for their quick reactions because some of them carried weapons and others even wore armour, expecting an attack and prepared to fight to defend their home.

I wasn't surprised to see the campers standing there, or that Chiron was in the crowd with Dionysus. No. I was surprised to discover the gods – the rest of the gods – standing amongst their children, also carrying their weapons and looking prepared to fight for the camp's territory against invaders. Each god or goddess stood by their children – or in Artemis' case, her hunters.

Quickly schooling my face into a calm façade, I allowed my lips to fall into a firm, straight line and my cheeks to lose all wrinkles. No smile, no frown, no emotion.

"I can assume that you were the warriors sent by Chaos, correct?"

I turned to face Chiron, who as spoken. "You are indeed correct, Chiron," I replied, using a voice that I only ever used when playing the role of the prince, as I did now. My crown was on and therefore, I used this voice.

"The gods and I know who you are," Chiron continued, gesturing to the gods as they lowered their weapons, "But I fear introduction would have to be made to fully appease my students, their children. We have just been through a traumatizing ordeal a few years back and I believe that everyone is still a bit on edge."

I smiled beneath my mask, allowing a friendly expression to be the first they would see. "Of course, my good centaur. Allow me," I said. "We are all members of the eternal army. Led by Order and Chaos, I am the general and these are my captains. They are the best and brightest in the universe. I would not trust anyone more with my life and limb on the field of battle."

Though it would not be visible to the earthlings, I could sense the guilt radiating off the captains as I spoke of them in words of praise. I spoke of trust with such sincerity when only days ago they trampled mine – it must've killed them inside. Later, I should appease them as well, but first, to finish my speech.

"I fear that we are here in a time of war, as an immortal being by the name of Destruction had risen to exact his revenge, beginning with the Earth. To stop him, we are here, and we will also offer any and all assistance that is needed of us. You have my word as Peacekeeper of the Stars."

Chiron seemed speechless – as did they all – before he collected himself and replied. "I see. Thank you for coming on such short notice, but if I may ask… who is this Destruction you speak of? We have just succeeded in fighting back Gaea and her minions and were told that you would be coming, but I do not believe that Chaos ever informed us of a new threat to our very existence."

My smile turned on its head. "I am sorry. I was unaware that you were misinformed by my lord. For you to truly understand the dilemma, I must explain… In the beginning, when Chaos and Order began their creations, they were not the only ones. Their brother, Balance, was the peacekeeper. He made sure that between them, everything was as if should be, and for many millennia, it was. Now, not even I am sure how it happened, but Balance became…disturbed. He became focused on cleansing the universe of life and beginning anew, remaking everything in his image. He became Destruction and was locked away in an ancient prison – which was deep in a place known simply as the Void – by his siblings. Now, he had gathered enough power to escape and had broken free of his prison. He plans to raze all life as you know it and beyond, beginning with the third life-giving planet, Earth."

For a few, stretched seconds, everything was silent as the gods, campers, and nature spirits stood in front of us, trying to process my words. Pretty soon, though, I saw every eye in front of me widen in utter horror.

"Who cares?" a pompous voice called out, "I bet I could beat this Destruction guy easily! He's no match for me, just like you and your wimpy army."

Immediately, my eyes narrowed. I knew that voice. How could I possibly hear that voice? Hadn't it been five thousand years? Hadn't he died long ago? Wait. No. I could see other campers that I'd known before I died, too. What is this? Had they all been made immortal? Had they made that moronic fool immortal?

I spun around and could only feel my rage intensifying as Damian Parker, son of Zeus, pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Deep in my throat, a growl formed, escaping between my clenched teeth. It was low and animalistic, filled with utter hate for the boy who ruined my life. My nerves felt like they were exploding all over my body, and I forced myself to use every drop of self-control that I had to not turn into my beast form right then and there and rip him to shreds.

He looked almost exactly as I remembered him, maybe five years older or so, but I wouldn't tell him that.

"And who might you be? I don't recall you being in the history books," I asked, and I was surprised by how calm and collected my voice sounded, despite my true feelings for this terrible person.

"I am the greatest hero to ever live! Surely, you've heard of me!" he boasted, throwing his arms wide in the air for emphasis.

I was able to school my lips into a thin smile before saying, "No, I can't say that I have. I do, however, know many great heroes. I've heard of Odysseus, Achilles, and Jason, just to name a few. Here, as well, I see the fabled Seven, and I've heard of those lost, as well. The one to defeat Kronos, Luke Castellan," a few campers flinched at the mention of Kronos. "Zoë Nightshade, the Huntress," Artemis smiled sadly, "and of course, all those who died fighting in your two wars."

Damian went to speak, but I cut him off.

"There was one more that is coming back to me. A great hero, who fought Kronos with all his might. Who beat down Gaea for the love of his family and the love of his friends? A humble man with more power than any could have ever imagined. What was his name again?"

As I'd described myself, I saw Damian's chest swell with pride; he must've thought I was talking about him. How, I don't know, because he hadn't fought in either of the wars. Maybe he'd assumed that all my accomplishments as Percy had been weighted onto his name because I was the "forgotten traitor".

"So, I see you have heard of me!" he said.

I shook my head. "No. I think I'd remember if a pathetic name like 'Damian Parker' was the one written in my books. It had a 'J' in it, for sure. I remember because I like the letter 'J'."

My comment brought a few peals of laughter from the crowd.

"Oh, yes," I continued, pretending to remember. "His name was Perseus Jackson."

"Percy," a different, yet familiar voice called out, "He preferred Percy."

It was Annabeth. She, too, looked the same as ever, if only slightly older than herself as I knew her. She'd aged well, though. I expected her to be wearing a wedding ring, married to that idiot, Damian, but it seemed not.

I gave a sharp nod in her direction. "Of course."

Then, turning back to Damian, I took a step forward. "I do know who you are, in truth, but you are no hero." I was right in front of him, staring down the bridge of my mask's nose to glare directly into his eyes.

"Damian Parker, born September 3rd, XXXX. You were left in an orphanage by parents who did not want you but were later adopted by a rich couple and were raised as a spoiled little boy. You grew up with your own group of boys, who only hung out with you because you were a bully and would've gone against them, too, if they didn't stand by your side. You didn't care about your grades at school, though, and were happy to drop out as soon as you hit the tenth grade, but your parents didn't seem to care. You had everything you ever wanted. That is…until the fire." I whispered my words into his ear.

I smirked as Damian's eyes widened. Of course, I'd just done all this research long ago, when I'd first joined the army. I'd been trying to understand what drove that boy to hate me so much after knowing me for so little time.

Damian stumbled slightly at my words. "H-how do you know about that?" he stuttered; his voice raised an octave. The panic was wild in his eyes.

"I know a lot of things. I know that you were the only one to escape the flames. I know you were the one to start the fire." I leaned in closer to him. "I know that you were the one who killed your family, and that makes you a murderer."

He let out a yelp, and I smiled, relishing in his fear. In all my life, I'd never hated anything so much, and a warm feeling grew within in me as I made him feel scared.

Stepping away from him, I walked back to my position at the head of my army. Looking back, Damian was on his knees, hands over his head as he was engulfed by the horrid memories of his past. I scowled. He deserved it.

"What did you do to him?" Annabeth asked.

"I didn't do anything. He's just remembering the pain that he has caused in his life," I replied shortly.

"Now that…um…you've finished, how about we get to introductions?" Zeus asked. It wasn't a demand or anything. The only thing to make him sound politer would be if he'd said 'please'! "I am Zeus, king of Olympus."

I raised my hand to stop him. "No need for introductions on your part. We know exactly who every one of you is, already. The Earth hasn't changed much since last I was here, so I'd assume that time travels at a different pace than it does on our home planet, Cofando," I explained. "However, my soldiers and I are due for an introduction."

Luke spoke first from my right-hand side. "I am Proteus, captain of the first battalion. We specialize in melee fighting."

Zoë went next. "I am Hester and I oversee the third battalion. Our specialty is long-range attacks, while I myself use the bow as my weapon of choice." She brandished her bow, made of shiny wood and strung with only the finest sinew. I noticed that her eyes drifted to Artemis for half a second before she introduced herself.

"I am Seraphina, captain of the second battalion. I am also the healer of our group."

Silena and Beckendorf went up together. "We are Caminus and Adara, and we are the captains of the fourth and fifth sectors of the army. Our battalions both specialize in the mastery of many different weapons and can use a wide variety during battle.

Lee Fletcher spoke after them, "My name is Jace. I am another of the top healers in the army. While Seraphina is the main healer for our group, I oversee the medical needs of the entire army. My sector is the medical wing, and I personally oversee the training of our medics.

His brother went next. "I am Belen, another archer. My battalion is the seventh, and we are the archers, usually."

Only two remained, and both were relatively quick.

"My name is Constantine, and I train all those who are sent as spies to gather intel or evidence behind enemy lines."

"My name is Vinum, and I train the soldiers in endurance and terrain. My soldiers are usually the ones sent to long battles in rough climates because there are many planets that are nearly uninhabitable but are still called home."

Finally, it was my turn, and then we'd be done. "Now, I believe I'm last–" I was cut off by a portal opening next to me. Out of it jumped a black four-legged figure, covered in feathers and fur. It was Haetros, and he landed right next to me.