DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE READ

Hey. I hope you won't, cause seriously, I was losing motivation to write. Don't blame me! Not many of you review and those are the only boosters I can get- if you don't count the favs and follows. But I get most from the Assassin of the Dark, and I don't need it there. SO sorry, I was really enjoying reading other fanfics and right now they are the only ones pushing me. And when they push, it only gives me little- so it riling me up little.

Another thing, I was encountering major writers block. When I see this thing's name earlier, I try very hard to concentrate- to write or think of something, I really do; it's just not my fault that the YouTube and Facebook tabs seem more inviting.

So anyway, I welcome myself back, thanks to Best B, thanks very much for knocking some sense into me/simply reminding me; the others can thank him/her later. I'll try to make this one longer; just to make up for ya.

Chapter 9

Five figures sat cross legged on their bunks, eyes closed in concentration. Once they were joking about laptops and Skype calls, saying that it was easier, but horribly loud and annoying; plus it takes too much space. But doing the current one they do now, it was very efficient and sneaky. One would think they were just meditating.

"Ohohoho. We got a daughter of Athena with us. Sweet," one said sarcastically, running their fingers along the small pointy black spikes on their club. People say that long distance calls were not liked by many, given that the connection was somewhat slow; but they were liking it, all right. For one, you couldn't be smacked at the back of the head for unintentional idiocy.

Another one snorted. "You're one to talk," she retorted, "You don't have a pesky daughter of Aether who is got to be more annoying than the owl spawns. So nosy, always messing with other peoples' businesses."

"Maybe because you didn't blend in," the first one snapped. "Did you even change your alias?"

"Of course I did. Duh."

"So, all of yours' plan is going smoothly?" A new one inquired quickly, avoiding another verbal fight. Knowing those two, they have got to be the most violent and brutal people in the whole universe, heck, even their leader wasn't that bad.

"Yeah, it's only my pardner here- who just so happens to be above me now- got suspected at by those soldiers; other than that, we're good," another one replied cheekily, earning an eye roll from the second one, his companion. "She just couldn't keep the maiming for later."

"And here I thought girls have more self-control than us men," the first one muttered.

The last figure's eyes hardened into a glare at no one in particular. "The Romans here pretty much worship Mars and Bellona, so they wouldn't think of us so much- except when in battle, that is; now that is a different story."

"Besides, their punishments are harsh," the first one added, which made his partner grin. "Scared?"

He snorted. "Never."

"Anyway, you two from this camp probably already know this, but three pipsqueaks from Camp Jupiter are coming down the pit," the third informed them. Instantly, the two assassins in question scowled, while the other two grinned in excitement. Before any of them could say anything, the leader continued to tell them of the whole traitor thing who issued the quest to save their damned gods. The mood soured immediately.

"That sneaky little-"

"Always so pompous, deceitful, vile-"

"I'd so really want to kill him-"

The leader shushed them and reminded them of the plan. He told them of the change of headquarters due to the quest to free the gods from the Roman camp. He also told them of the place where the army transferred, should they need to go back in case of emergencies. Afterword, they talked for the whole night until midnight and went back to whatever they were supposed to be doing.

-*The Next Day*-

Omega walked through the quiet chatters of the camp, getting bows of respect as he did so. He acknowledged them with a nod and continued to walk towards his destination. The camp was not much, had the Master told him to not borrow too much dirt, but it was enough to be a small skirmish.

He made his way into a small clearing within the camp. He spread his wings: feathery black as nightmare hawk wings with a ten-foot wingspan. The feathers are made of super sharp metallic tips of Stygian Iron with Tartarus and Dark Essences- the same essences infused into his trusty bronze blade that made it the darkest black color- which makes the wings a deadly offense and an indestructible defense.

Omega did some experimental flaps before launching upwards at high speed, grinning, as he flew his way high up the sky where you could see him only as a tiny little blob, where he could see the landscape perfectly. He had set monster camps everywhere near both entrances of the Underworld, and also along the way to both, deeming it hard to reach the Land of the Dead.

He had watched how the three demi-squirts from Camp Jupiter play around the way of the monster camps, getting attacks left and right every hour and thirty minutes. From what he knows, since their quest had started the day before, they were already in the pit. Too bad he forgot to wish them good luck when they were still sane and coherent.

Omega will try with this other group though, hopefully he'd catch up to them on time. Why won't they just get out right now? Why go tomorrow? Why wait? Oh well, the sooner they venture out to be the savior of the gods- how ironic- the smaller the chance they would get attacked every five seconds. Oh yes, he was loving it; sneaky ambushy, hit and run..

"Wait, am I the one thinking about this? I usually don't think about liking killing people..," he thought, gaining his senses for a while. And for a while there, he felt an emotion that has been shunned since he joined the Dark Army; he felt scared. Scared that someone was rubbing off him, possessing him to be a bloodthirsty monster. Okay, he admits that he was; once.

He shook his head. He was getting soft. His master and father figure won't allow that. He himself won't allow that. He almost fell out of the sky when someone replied to his thought. It actually replied.

Yes, you are the one thinking that, Perseus.

Omega flinched. He never liked that name since he was still serving Olympus; only then, he hated it. Calling himself a crazy bloodthirsty maniac, he replied mentally, "No, I did not! Maybe you made me think that," he protested.

Are you sure, Perseus? Are you sure that you, alone, did not project those thoughts? Are you sure that you are not a bloodthirsty monster? the voice in his head replied. It has an amused tone to it, annoying Omega immensely.

"Yes, I am sure," he agreed to it firmly. He flew aimlessly and the voice was silent. He soared up higher than the clouds, completely obscuring himself from the land mortals' view. He asked the voice, "Who are you, anyway? Why are you in my head?"

You're telling me you don't know me, Perseus? And yet you called me here?

Omega's face scrunched up in annoyance as he continued to watch over the Greek camp that was partially covered by the misty clouds. "Stop calling me that," he snapped, "I am Omega! I do not go by such a pathetic name! Name yourself and your business inside my head before I kick you out of my barriers."

Fine fine, you don't have to be so irritable, it chided, just making him more agitated. I am what you call, your 'conscience.'

The answer made Omega stop in his tracks. Or, in this case, trail. His face was still scrunched up but this time in confusion. "My conscience? I don't see how possible it is that I am talking to my own conscience."

Oh, it is possible. How do you think I am talking to you right now?

Omega snorted as he continued to glide and observe the activities of the camp. "Touché. Why are you here?"

His 'conscience' seemed to be proud of itself in triumph of making his host harrumph. I am here to tell you that it is true; you are a bloodthirsty monster.

"No, I am not. I do not wish for the others' death. I only want revenge against the people who betrayed me," he retorted internally.

Retribution, his conscience mused. This Army has changed you. Not for the better.

Omega narrowed his eyes, which flashed dangerously. "You are my conscience, are you not? I listened to you- you told me to go there. For retribution," he replied sharply. "And now you, who told me to come to the Army, are telling me that you do not like the changes upon me? Wait, let me scratch that, I did not even change!"

No. You changed, Omega- see, even you changed your name, it said calmly, trying to make a point. Omega glared at the sword-fighting teacher angrily, waiting for his 'conscience' to respond. You are not anymore loyal- you went against your allies; you are not anymore merciful- you let your godly family be damned until they fade-

"Shut up," he groaned, stopping and floating in the air, glaring at the ground in frustration. The voice did not stop, however.

You are not anymore kindhearted- you kill even the innocent-

"Shut up!" he yelled internally, trying to stop the voice. He clutched his head painfully, as if having a severe headache.

And most of all, you are not anymore good- you are-

"Shut up!" He could not take it anymore, too, too painful, so he yelled. Both mentally and physically. His voice echoed across the valley of Camp Half-Blood, across Long Island Sound and Half-Blood Hill. For a while, there was silence in his world. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood paused to look around confusedly before continuing on their activities.

The peace did not last. You are evil. You are evil, Perseus Jackson.

"No." The phrase seemed to drain all his energy as he felt himself losing consciousness. The last thing he saw was the lake, approaching him quickly as he dove straight down at speeds, before all in his world turned black.

-*Same Time, Same Day*-

"All cabin counselors and warriors, please proceed to the Big House for a war council meeting."

A son of Athena opened his eyes and took one of his arms from under his head to nudge his boy companion. "Hey.. Lex!"

The said son of Apollo stirred and groaned before jolting upright and looking at his friend. "What?"

"Council meeting," he replied, gesturing to the Big House. Lexter scratched his head in frustration before jumping to his feet and jogging to the Big House. After making sure that he was out of earshot, he nudged his other companion.

"Hey. Hey Daria. Get your nose out of that book-" he paused, seeing his friend not paying attention to him, he hissed urgently through clenched teeth, "Dianne!"

The disguised assassin looked up, annoyed that her partner interrupted reading her precious article of ninjas. She raised an eyebrow.

"There's a council meeting," he glanced at the Big House, its door being entered by counselors constantly. In no time, they will start the meeting once it's filled up. He glanced at the cover of the book, before grinning mischievously. "Let's just hope that you learned something when reading that junk."

Dianne knit her eyebrows in confusion and looked at the cover. Her eyes widened before they narrowed into a glare directed at the boy. "No way Kaemon; you said you were the one-" she tried to protest but then Kaemon cut her off.

"Nu-u-uh," he shook his head, grinning at her. "You go on ahead, you're a ninja, yes you are!"

The 'ninja' glared at him as she pulled on some grass around them and put it between the pages, using it as a bookmark. She glanced at the Big House; observing the door was closed, she put down her book and stood up. She still had not taken a step when they heard a distant 'shut up' from above. Well, at least they thought it was from above.

The two assassins exchanged a look as Kaemon stood up from his position in the grass, before looking around for the source of the noise, as did the other campers, the whole atmosphere quiet. They shrugged it off as did everyone else and trudged to the Big House.

Once again, they froze as they heard a 'no' in their head, knowing full well who it came from. They exchanged a worried look. "Dianne, go," Kaemon whispered frantically. "I'll take care of him." His fellow assassin did not waste her time to argue and nodded, sprinting to a shadow beside the Big House before disappearing out of sight.

Kaemon turned just in time to see a solid humanoid figure clad in black falling straight down toward the lake, and it appears to him that it was unconscious. He cursed silently and looked around for any witnesses. Unfortunately, many campers have seen it as well and gathered around at the outskirts of the lake. He again cursed his luck and his leader for dragging him into this situation.

He thought of another solution to this problem, since with witnesses, blasting him off with his staff* won't work- he can't afford to risk giving away his identity. For all he knows, someone may have seen the weapon from the last battle. Now that people have seen the falling black clad figure, there is only one thing that he could think of. A crazy idea, but it's better than just letting his leader get revealed and chained, and then they would have to 'rebel' against this.

He decided to play hero.

-*Big House Rec-Room*-

Everyone settled around the ping-pong table, the counselors occupying all the chairs leaving the Warriors of Light to stand around them. They began to talk actively while waiting for Chiron to come in and start the meeting.

Connor Stoll, a Hermes cabin counselor, was talking to Seth Firee, counselor of the Hecate cabin and Nico di Angelo of the Hades cabin about their latest prank, while Travis Stoll, the other Hermes counselor was flirting with Katie Gardner, though the Demeter cabin counselor was oblivious to this as she was talking to Will Solace, counselor of the Apollo cabin. Brian King from the Athena cabin was telling Leo Valdez of the Hephaestus cabin about his plans for an awesome battleship, while Drew Tanaka from Aphrodite was laughing at some joke from Butch Jefferson, counselor of the Iris cabin. Clarisse La Rue of the Ares cabin was arguing with Lexter and Aria about what was better: archery or sword-fighting. Pollux Green of Dionysus was in a conversation with the rest of the cabin counselors, save for Clovis Porter of the Hypnos cabin, who was snoring loudly.

They know nothing of the commotion outside, as well as their little ninja who just accidentally bumped her head on the roof.

A few minutes later, Chiron came in on his Zeus-knows-how-old wheelchair, effectively silencing everyone. He stopped at the head of the table and regarded everyone with a grim smile, and especially Clovis who was still sleeping. Catching his look, Seth shook the son of Hypnos awake before returning his attention to the Trainer of Heroes.

"Hello everyone," he began, "As you all know, half of the Olympians have been captured and damned in Tartarus."

The temperature seemed to drop and the lights dimmed in response to the mention of the ancient abyss. Murmurs of protest and uneasiness about the captured Olympians were exchanged among themselves, unable to ease their nerves at the thought. If the gods were captured and immobile in the war against deities stronger than them, how will the demigods alone, win this?

Chiron cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes, and according to the safer rest, a quest must be issued to save them. Who shall lead the quest?"

While the others are saying various excuses to back out, Lexter and Aria exchanged looks, their eyes screaming déjà vu, and then nodded to each other. Aria stepped forward, drawing looks of curiosity and shock. The room was silenced. "I'll go."

Daria tilted her head sideways, smiling as she gazed at the scene before her with interest. Though this gesture didn't reach her eyes, as if the scene pleased and displeased her at the same time. This meeting was a good entertainment source in a long time since watching her leader fall out of the sky after experiencing a brain circuit error. She watched on closely for what happens next.

Chiron asked worriedly, "Are you sure, Aria?"

Aria smiled. "Of course," she replied. "A warrior here-" She jabbed a thumb on her chest, "Light."

Daria snorted. "Proud."

Chiron nodded and asked Connor, one of the immortal sons of Hermes, to call for the Oracle in her cave. A few seconds later, he came back with Sara, a fifteen year old blonde who followed Trisha, the Oracle who followed after Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The blonde Oracle looked at Aria expectantly.

The daughter of Aether took a deep breath. "What is my fate in this quest?"

Sara's eyes glowed serpent green and then she stood up straight, her eyes glaring at Aria. She spoke, her voice like three people at once:

"You shall descend down to the pit of nothingness

You shall lose a leader in the seemingly endless darkness

Half a hundred down, two across

A group bringing hope and grief, you shall cross

Memories, enemies and friends resurface

And succeed with a price, one that cannot be paid."

After speaking, she collapsed into Connor's waiting arms. Chiron motioned for Connor to take her back to her cave, which he did obediently. He put one of her arms around his neck and led her back to the cave in the hill. Watching and hearing all of this, Daria's expression brightened.

Aria, on the other hand, was looking pale. The words of the Oracle played in her mind, echoing. The lines that worried her the most were the second and last line. She gulped while Daria grinned and shadow traveled back to the spot she disappeared on.

Looks like someones going to say bye bye.

Hi. Hopefully that could make up for it. Sorry, I tried to make it longest as I could, it's only up to this. Read the author's note above, if you want to know why and why I haven't updated earlier. Let me say it again, this time: the update speed is decided by you.

* = you know Aang's staff, right? The one he uses to fly and airbend with? Kaemon's staff is kinda like that.

So yeah, please review! Your CCs or whatever will be appreciated(is the prophecy okay?)! Have a fun day/night ~Smartzyfan