[ AN: Another boring chapter. I'm sorry, okay? The real fun chapters are on the way. Not that this chapter isn't important. And btw, I am a strong believer in the unbreakability of Percabeth ;) ]

Chapter 7: The Birthday

[ On Earth, a few months after the death of Percy ]

It was Percy's birthday. All of Camp Half-Blood had thrown a party, for Sally's sake. Percy's mother had been devastated by the news when she had heard it a few months ago. Her only son was dead. But Annabeth had confided in her, the secret that Chaos had told her.

Percy would return.

It was easier that way. It was easier to believe that Percy would, one day, come back. It was easier to accept than the alternative, the truth that was more probable, more logical and Athena-like. That Percy was dead.

That Annabeth would never again see that windswept hair, those sea-green eyes, that teasing lopsided grin. That Annabeth would never again kiss him underwater, or eat blue birthday cake with him, or walk through hell with him. That Annabeth would never again get to call him Seaweed Brain.

Those were her nightmares. The ones that scared her even more than her dreams of the horrors of Tartarus, or her memories of the battle with Gaea.

[ Star Realm, a few weeks D.P. ]

Percy loved his family. His new family. Erik and Shanti and Zoe were like older siblings, and Bianca was like a little sister. Leviathan was sort of the loving mother of the group, Hanuman was the protective dad, Anansi was the funny uncle. And above it all, Chaos was the all-powerful grandma.

If this was what Chaos had offered him in the dream when she said "a new family," Percy could not have asked for more. Well, he still wanted to return to Annabeth, and his mother, and Paul, and Tyson, and Mrs. O'Leary, and Chiron, and, well, everybody...

But if he had to wait for Judgement Day, he could've been stuck in worse places. The Champs, as he had immediately taken to calling them, were actually a fun group. Anansi was even worse than Leo with his pranks. Erik loved to show off with lightning, much like Jason. Zoe was still Zoe, still kicking Percy's butt in archery. And if Leviathan could've met Hestia, they would have been best friends.

Percy both loved and hated how everyone in Star Realm reminded him of home.

And it killed him to think of it, but Chaos reminded Percy of his mother. His heart hurt for his mother. He hated to think of how much pain she must have suffered after hearing that her son had been executed, without her knowledge. He watched her still, from his constellation the Swordsman, late at night as she cried herself to sleep. She and Annabeth spent so much time together now. At least they had each other.

And Annabeth. Percy couldn't even express his emotions for her in words. It was strange, he thought, how the distance now between them only made him realize how much he loved her. It broke his heart every time he saw her crying in mourning. Even a month after his death, she hadn't let him go.

Shanti told him Annabeth never would let go. That was love.

Of course, there was Shanti. Percy and Shanti were made for each other. No, not like that. Made for battle.

Sure, Hanu could beat Percy in brute strength, but not in combat. Erik had incredible control over his lightning, but was too impulsive to last long in a fair fight. Anansi was a trickster; the only way he could beat Percy was by bending the rules. Lev didn't really like to fight, and Zoe's hunting knives were no match for Riptide.

Percy had trained with pretty much every Champion and every member of the Swordsmen unit, and not one could match his skills. Bianca was close, but Percy suspected that her shortsword Eclipse had something to do with that. That sword had a mind of its own.

But Percy was something else entirely. He was probably the greatest swordsman in history. And over the first few months, Percy had discovered what Shanti had called the "cool individual powers" each of the Champions had. At least, he had figured out his own, and most of Shanti's, through combat.

His single most useful combat ability was time-warping. His second was prescience. Once his instincts kicked into gear, everything around him seemed to slow down, literally. He could see moves before they occurred, sense events in the immediate future. This made him a better fighter than any soldier in Chaos' army.

But of course, Shanti's best ability was superspeed. Ridiculous superspeed. And that was why they were made for each other. Percy's abilities allowed him to see every gap in Shanti's defense, but Shanti was so fast that he couldn't land a blow. But of course, Percy could see where Shanti would strike next, so she couldn't land a blow either. They would duel for hours, uninterrupted, even through lunch break, when crowds would gather for the free entertainment.

It did wonders for their skills. They were like twin knives, sharpened against each other, Swordsman and Lancer. It was a fire-forged friendship, and their respective units became closer as well.

One night, after a grueling all-night duel, Percy and Shanti called it a day. Literally.

They collapsed in a heap on the grass of the training ground, gasping for breath and every muscle burning. Shanti lay sideways, using Percy's chest as a pillow. He didn't mind, even though his lungs hurt a little.

"I think you were on the verge of losing today, Jellyfish," she teased. "I had you cornered at the end. Could have disarmed you."

He rolled his eyes, deftly taking her hair and tying it into a knot. She yelped in anger. He laughed and ran his fingers through it, straightening it out.

She turned her head toward him and scowled. "One day, I'm gonna kill you."

Percy laughed. "You could try."

"Come on," she said, grabbing his hand and getting up. "I want to show you something. But you have to let me blindfold you."

Percy huffed. He didn't really like the idea, it sounded like another one of Anansi's pranks, but he trusted Shanti with his life. Besides, one of his powers was his prescient spacetime sense, which gave him a general idea of where he was, even without his five senses. If it was a prank, he would be able to tell. She blindfolded him and led him outside.

He knew the way, even though he couldn't see it. They walked out of the palace training grounds to the star fields. When they were in the middle of the star fields, she took off the blindfold. She motioned for him to look up.

Up at the blank sky of the Star Realm. The sky slowly faded from black to lighter and lighter shades of gray, as it usually did at "sunrise" in the Star Realm. Any moment now, it would turn white, announcing daytime.

And then, the sky was blue. Complete with clouds and sun and everything.

A blue sky above the Star Realm.

Percy blinked. "Am I going crazy?"

Shanti laughed, then surprised him by grabbing him from behind in a hug. She was still very warm from fighting, and her breath tickled his neck.

His face reddened. "Um..."

She laughed, leaning her chin on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Percy. I know you're taken. It's just fun to tease you. And by the way, the sky is a present from Chaos."

"A present? For what?"

She rolled her eyes. "Happy birthday, Percy."

Percy's eyes widened. Birthday?

He suddenly remembered. Time flowed differently in Star Realm, because they were so close to Chaos' powerful aura. Everything slowed down, so that a few weeks here was equivalent to months on Earth. He supposed that on Earth, it really must have been his birthday.

"Oh." He stammered for a second. "I, uh, sort of forgot about that."

She laughed. "Well, Granny didn't!" She turned him around, and seemingly out of nowhere, tables and banners and enough food for hundreds of people appeared. A huge, Minotaur-sized, Minotaur-shaped cake appeared at the middle, surrounded by Chaos' army, and his best friends, the Champs. They all tackled him in a group hug, choking the daylight out of him.

"Now, now, kids, don't kill my superhero," said Chaos. "Save the energy for Judgement Day."

Judgement Day.

Suddenly, Percy's surprise birthday party didn't seem as bright. He laughed and smiled and put on a mask, but the feeling was still there. Whenever his friends weren't looking, he stared down at the Earth far below, where his old friends were.

He was just one hero. He had done his part, he had fought in two wars for the Olympians. But now, even after death, he was still a pawn, a much more powerful pawn. No, he thought. Chaos doesn't see me as a pawn. She sees me almost like her own son.

But Percy was scared.

He hadn't even gone on a single mission yet. Chaos had been training him for weeks, preparing him. And that scared him more than anything. If Chaos herself thought he, Percy Jackson, wasn't prepared to face Order's minions, Percy wondered how powerful Order himself really was.

Percy would have to defend the world from Order. Even now, after "death", everyone relied on him. When the time came, would he alone be enough?

And then he stared at all the people around him, at the Champions. Shanti, whose unconditional love was brighter than any sunshine. Erik, who would go to the ends of the earth for his friends. Hanu, who would rather die than give up his ideals. Lev, whose heart was bigger than the ocean. Anansi, who beneath all his silliness, hid the accumulated wisdom and sadness of thousands of years. Zoe, who would willingly give her life to protect anyone in the name of Good.

And Percy realized the truth.

This was his family. He alone would never be enough to save the world. But all of them together? Order wouldn't stand a chance.