Hey all! I am SO proud of this chapter, mostly because my fingers haven't wanted to work all day and this chapter was 3.5K words long! Enjoy this bittersweet chapter! And a little explanation!
Percy III
"Chaos?" I asked.
"Yes" Chiron nodded and went to his bookshelf, he searched for a minute before he pulled an old book with yellowed pages down and flipped through it to a specific page before he laid it in front of me "there is much debate on the exact form Chaos takes. Some ancient Greeks believed she was a place, an empty void where creation began, other saw her as more of an entity. It is difficult to actually describe her as no one has ever seen her. The Christians call her God. But, and I'm sure you know this, at the very beginning of existence there was only her. From her came the first three primordial gods; Gaea, Tartarus and Eros. Gaea became the Earth, Tartarus became the Underworld and Eros became Love. After the first three Chaos created two more; Erebus, the personification of Darkness, and Nyx, the personification of Night. And from the union between Erebus and Nyx came two more personifications, if you will, Aether, the Divine Air, and Hemera, the Day."
"So she's the mother of all the bad things in the world" I said, coming to that conclusion.
"Not exactly" Chiron said "unless you consider Love to be a bad thing. She created the things that all other things would come from. Without Gaea we wouldn't have the Titans and thus wouldn't have the Olympians. And from Eros we get passion and from passion all things are created whether it be passion between two lovers that bring children into the world or passion to create things of art or science."
"So...she is the real creator of the world?" I asked him and he nodded.
"Yes, essentially" he said and closed the book, handing it to me, "but Percy, if Chaos is really who the voice in the dream belonged to THIS will be the fight of your life. She is the creator of all things and that credit was taken from her and given to Gaea as the same with all her children. Chaos may feel disrespected, as I'm sure her children do as well. A disrespected god is a force to be reckoned with as you saw with Medusa who was cursed by a disrespected Athena. Chaos's power is one of creation, there is a lot yet to be created and I am sure we do not wish to see what she can create. She has long been asleep and quiet but the recent events of the last few years may have awoken her. And I fear she has chosen to take Annabeth as a personal challenge to you. It would seem as though you are the Chosen One, again. It HAS to be you."
"It always has to be me!" I yelled "It's been me since Mrs. Dodds at the museum! I don't want it to be me! I don't want to be the Chosen One again! I want a life Chiron!" I ran a hand through my hair, finally having the breakdown I knew was coming as soon as I woke up alone on the beach "I want to marry Annabeth! I want to have children with her! I want to grow old and hang my sword up! I don't want to be part of another prophecy!" I fell into a chair and put my head in my hands "I asked her to marry me Chiron."
"You asked her to marry you?" Chiron asked and I looked up at him "did she answer you?"
"She said yes" I said and, even though my world was crashing down around me, I smiled because just the thought of Annabeth wanting to marry me made me warm all over.
"Would you be upset with me if I said congratulations?" he asked and smiled as well.
"No" I shook my head and let out a short laugh "but I can't lose her."
"We will do everything we can to get her back" Chiron said and put a hand on my shoulder "use this. Let this fuel how hard you train and how hard you push the campers in their training. And I suggest telling your fellow campers the news. Believe it or not, the whole camp has been following your relationship with her since the Battle of the Labyrinth. An engagement would help fuel the rest of the camp and help boost morale a bit. Losing Annabeth will hit the whole camp hard. They will need this."
"Okay" I nodded and stood up "I have to go. We have a lot to do."
"We do. I will call everyone to the amphitheater to discuss this" Chiron said and I left.
My mind was spinning. She was alive, that's all I knew and I was going to make sure it stayed that way.
"Percy!" I heard my name called and I turned around to see my parents coming up to me.
"Hey mom. Hey dad" I said and they instantly picked up on my mood.
"What's wrong?" my mom asked, frowning now.
"Annabeth's gone" I said after a shaky breath "she was taken from me. Chiron thinks Chaos took her."
"Oh Percy" my mom frowned and immediately wrapped me in a hug. The warmth of her embrace made me feel like a little kid again. I hugged her back and buried my face into her hair. Tears stung in my eyes and my breath got shaky as I held in my tears. "Let it out" she whispered, knowing me and knowing that I had a lot of emotions I needed to get out. As soon as she said that the tears spilled. I hugged her harder as I cried, letting myself feel the full weight of my emotions. My mom and Annabeth were the only two people who have ever seen me cry. I let it all out, never lifting my face from her hair, until there was nothing left to let out. I pulled away and wiped my eyes dry.
"Thanks" I whispered and looked at my dad, feeling ashamed that I cried like a little kid in front of the Lord of the Sea "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"Percy" he said softly and put his hand on my shoulder "you are allowed to break down. You lost the love of your life. And we will get her back."
"I know" I said "I have to. We're getting married."
"Wait" my mom cut in "what?!"
"I proposed last night" I admitted and she smiled and hugged me again.
"Oh congratulations!" she said and pulled away "I'm going to have a daughter in law!"
"Yes" I nodded and smiled softly too "because that wedding WILL happen."
"Damn right" Poseidon smiled and hugged me too "congratulations son."
I pulled away and cleared my throat.
"Well" I said "I have to be in the amphitheater to brief the rest of camp on the news."
"We'll come with you" my mom said and Poseidon nodded before we made our way down to the amphitheater. My parents sat in the front row and the rest of camp talked. I made my way to the stage where Chiron was standing with Jason Grace.
"Percy" Jason looked at me with sad eyes "I'm sorry for Annabeth. Chiron briefed me separately. We spoke about me returning to New Rome with the younger Campers here."
"Why with the younger campers?" I asked and crossed my arms.
"Our youngest camper is 9" Chiron said "anyone under the age of 13 will not be permitted to fight. I cannot, in good conscious, put children's lives at stake."
"That is understandable" I nodded.
"And on my way back I plan to bring New Rome with me" Jason said "we'll need them. This shouldn't be just a Camp Half Blood thing."
"Thank you" I nodded.
"Campers!" Chiron announced and the buzz immediately stopped, he was in his centaur form now, "we have some...unsettling news. One of our campers were taken last night. We have not yet confirmed who took her but we have a guess. I will let Percy fill you all in."
I took a deep breath, this wasn't my first war briefing.
"If you haven't noticed by now Annabeth was the camper taken" I let a moment for the commotion to start before I continued "I had a dream last night. I was in a dark room and I heard a voice. A female one. She told me that she was disrespected by the loss of Kronos and Gaea and she planned to rage war against Olympus, Camp Half Blood and New Rome. She challenged the gods and their children. And she showed me Annabeth locked in a cage. She is alive, because she knows she has no dice if she's not. But she is causing her pain. I woke up and Annabeth was gone. I spoke to Chiron and he believes we are dealing with Chaos, the creator of everything. And he believes her children will become involved as well, her children being Tartarus, Eros, Erebus and Nyx. This is the fight of our lives. I know we've thought that about the Titan War and the Giant War but this one is it. This is the ultimate test. This is the fight of all fights. Although, in numbers, we are more but in talent we are less. Over the years we have lost many good fighters. We don't have a Bekendorf or a Leo anymore and we don't have Annabeth. Training will become harder and more demanding of you all. The teachers will be harder on you. If you can't handle it you better suck it up."
I looked around the room, noticing how the gods shifted uncomfortably when Chaos was mentioned.
"As per Chiron's request, anyone under the age of 13 will not be permitted to fight" I continued "Jason Grace will be transporting all the younger children to New Rome where they will wait until after the war and those at New Rome who are over 13 will be transported here to join the fight. We're unsure of where the fighting will take place but my guess is that nowhere is safe. There is a special place at New Rome dedicated to families and legacies. My hope is that even if we lose, the children will be safe. I don't know how much time we have so we have to move fast. Thank you."
I started to leave when Hades stood up.
"Mr. Jackson" he said and I stopped "though your past arrogance annoys me but I do believe we will need your arrogance here. I also do believe you could use a little help. You see, there is a loophole in Elysium. It's called the Isles of the Blest, the ultimate goal after death. You may choose to be reborn two more times and if you achieve Elysium all during all three lives you get to go there. I can guarantee all of the people you have lost through the wars have made it to Elysium. With Zeus's permission I can bend the loophole, only this once. I can bring back your lost friends back, same skill level and same personality as what they died with. In exchange for them coming back, which I will consider a reborn, I will send them to the Isles of the Blest when they do die again."
"Wait" I said and stepped closer "why would you do that?"
"I lost a daughter in the Titan War" he said and glanced at Nico "I have honestly been looking for an excuse that my brother would be okay with to bring her back."
All eyes were on Zeus, who stood in the corner next to the amphitheater's stage.
"Dead is supposed to stay dead Hades" Zeus looked at him dangerously.
"Brother" now it was Poseidon's turn to stand up and interject "if there is any time to bend the rules this is it! We have never faced Chaos before. Father was one thing, as was Gaea, but Chaos?! We need all the help we can get!"
"We would have handled the past events with or without them" Zeus argued.
"Brother" Hades said, all brothers had moved to the center of the amphitheater "I have never asked you to do this before. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't needed."
Zeus clenched his jaw and looked between his two brothers.
"May I remind you" Poseidon said "a life is at stake, technically your granddaughter's life. Put away your rules and your 'God of Justice' hat away."
Zeus continued to look between the two of them, battling within himself.
"Fine" Zeus said and his brothers raised their eyebrows "never ask me of this again. And you will not use this 'loophole' to bring back anyone but who Jackson over there says to bring back."
"Fine" Hades said and looked at me "this is a once and done Jackson. This is not coming to me tomorrow with two more people."
"Oh" I said and nodded "give me a minute. I've never been asked who I would bring back if I could. Though I feel like I think about it daily. I would like to start with Lee Fletcher, and Michael Yew Sons of Apollo."
Hades snapped his fingers and a fire ignited in the fire pit then two figures walked out from the flames. I sucked in a breath, they were both dressed the exact same way they were when they died, orange Camp Half Blood shirts, bows and quivers attached tot heir backs.
"You're joking" Will Solace said and pushed forward, practically falling over the first row before he threw himself at his brothers "oh my gods I missed you two!"
They hugged him back and the whole Apollo cabin joined in, eventually leading Apollo to join. It was a bittersweet moment and that's when I decided I would bring as many people as I could back, everyone deserved this moment with their lost sibling.
"I can't believe Will is in charge" Michael laughed as he pulled away.
"You can have it back" Will laughed, tears in his eyes. The cabin sat down and Will would not leave his brothers' sides. They looked whole again.
"Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus" I said, tearing my eyes away from Apollo cabin.
Hades snapped his fingers and a big burly man with kind eyes walked out of the fire. He had time to look around the room before his cabin tackled him, followed shortly after by his father.
"Oh my Gods!" I heard Jake Mason said "you're back! You're really back!"
"Yes I'm back!" Beckendorf said, laughing "Oh Gods I'm back." They dragged him back to their section, talking and pushing each other, catching him up on everything he missed.
"Silena Beauregard" I said and the whole of Aphrodite cabin screamed when she walked through the fire. They was a flurry of hair and I got a huge whiff of perfume as they stormed the stage, throwing themselves at the girl.
"Oh you have NO idea how much we missed you!" one girl said and Silena laughed.
"Silena?" I heard Beckendorf ask and the whole room got quiet again. The Aphrodite cabin occupants parted so that there was a clear path between the two. Their eyes met and they walked towards each other in a state of awe.
"Charlie?" she asked, tears in her eyes as she smiled. She held her hand up to his cheek and he covered it with his hand "oh my gods." She laughed and hugged him. He embraced her back and the whole camp erupted into one mass cheer. My chest clenched and I couldn't wait for this moment with Annabeth.
I cleared my throat and looked ta Hades. "Zoe Nightshade" I said and he snapped his fingers again. A girl in a Hunters uniform stepped out. She still had the silver ringlet braided into her hair, representing her spot as Lieutenant. Artemis was actually the one who stepped forward.
"My Zoe" she whispered and held her face in her hands.
"M'lady" Zoe whispered back and they hugged tightly "oh how I've missed serving you."
"You were so brave" Artemis whispered "and you're back."
"Zoe" Thalia said as she came up behind Artemis, with the same silver ringlet braided in her hair.
"Thalia Grace" Zoe pulled away, laughing, "Daughter of Zeus has become a Hunter. And my replacement I see. I was right wasn't I?"
"Yes" Thalia said "you were right about the boy. And if it is okay with Lady Artemis I would like to give you your role back."
"That is very noble of you Thalia" Artemis smiled and waved her hand. Thalia's hair fell free from the silver ringlet and she bowed her head. Zoe pulled her into a hug.
"We are sisters now Thalia" she said as Thalia hugged her back "and there are times I wish I was wrong about boys. I am sorry."
They walked away to sit with the rest of the Hunters, all excited to have her back. Artemis even looked happier than I had ever seen her in the last few years.
"Bianca di Angelo" I continued with my requests. Hades smiled and snapped his fingers.
"Bianca!" I heard Nico yell as he ran to his sister when she stepped out of the flames. She was still in her Hunters clothing.
"Oh Nico!" Bianca said and they met in a hug "look how big you've gotten! Oh my goodness! You look so much like mother!"
"Oh gods I missed you!" Nico said and dragged her back to his seat, for a second she ignored the Hunters but no one was angry. I felt like I was making dreams come true.
"I have one more" I said and Hades looked at me, tearing his eyes away from his daughter "and I know what everyone is going to say when I say it. Luke Castellan."
"No" Hades said and the room went quiet once again "absolutely not. Do you not remember the part when I said they will come back with the same personality. He died a loyal follower to Kronos."
"No he didn't" I said "he died a hero, loyal to Camp Half Blood if not loyal to Olympus. He fought Kronos within him and used a dagger to stab himself in his Achilles spot. He gave his life for the people in this room. Hes one of the best swordsman I know and he could be a very valuable asset to the cause."
"If he adds to the already overwhelming problems we have going on at the moment I will send you both to the Fields of Punishment" Hades said and snapped his fingers. I held my breath as he walked out of the flames the same way the people before him did. The room was still quiet and I walked up to face him, his eyes were blue.
"You brought me back" Luke said and I crossed my arms.
"Yes" I said "I did. I like to think I can trust you. I brought you back to save Annabeth. If that's not enough to keep you in line then I don't know what is."
"You can trust me" he responded with a nod.
"Until I know for sure you are not to be left alone" I kept looking at him with a stern look "and if you start having dreams like the last time I want to know immediately. I changed Camp because of you. I changed the gods because of you. Embrace the change and understand they are trying to do better for us."
"I understand" he nodded.
"Good" I said "your cabin and Dad have missed you."
"My da-" he started to ask before I stepped aside and Hermes engulfed him in a hug, his siblings close to follow.
I walked away and towards center stage again.
"Okay!" I announced and everyone got quiet, I noticed Silena and Beckendorf were sitting together and that made me happier on the inside "There will be a war council in two hours! Olympians are to attend as well as Cabin Counselors. I understand that some of the people who came back were counselors at one point. If the goal is to give them their titles back I will still require the current counselors to attend as well so we know who is getting their titles back. Enjoy these moments back with your loved ones. I will see you all in two hours!"
I walked up to my mom.
"I am going training" I said "I'm losing my grip and I need to blow off some steam."
"We understand" My mom said softly "I'm sure Evan is up from his nap now. I'm going to tend to him."
"I will escort you" Poseidon smiled at her then looked at me "i don't trust Luke."
"No one will" I said "but trust me."
"okay son" he smiled and they left. I was left with my feelings. I needed to destroy some training dummies.
Also, I forgot to mention in the before note.
After encouragement from a reader I have decided to add this story to AO3 as well! If you're on that sit as well please go ahead and look it up!
Anyways! Don't forget to tell me how you liked this chapter!
~Wise Girl~