Disclaimer: *Insert witty pun about not owning the Percy Jackson books here*

(＞人＜;)

OMG OMG OMG! Over 70 follows! Over 55 favourites! OMG I LOVE YOU ALL!

So so so so so so sorry for the delay! This chapter was extremely hard to write, as I needed it so the next few chapters would work out the right way. So, yeah...

The-Nutty-Squirrel: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. SHIT WILL GO DOWN, MAYBE THIS CHAPTER MAYBE NEXT, JUST READ TO FIND OUT. YAY. And doctors are SO PITAs. :3

aesir21: I don't really know what you mean. If you mean that 'furies' are being autocorrected to 'Erinyes', I want them to be named that. Furies is Roman while Erinyes is the Greek collective name. I think.

k1demmin: Yes, he created it, then opened it. Also, he will be claimed, but who says Gaia has to do it? He is the primordial deity of Creation after all...

To the others: Sorry for not doing individual ones, but they'd justly look like a copy and paste. So here it is to everyone: Thank you! I love praise (even if I think I don't deserve it).

~Nom Nom :3

PS: Please bare in mind that the insults said are insults that I believe people would say to each other. I do not mean anything said, but if you take offence, you're stupid. You obviously stupid if you deduce my morals and thoughts towards something based off an insult I used for a character that DOESN'T reflect me. Seriously, if you do, just grow up...

Bane of Khaos

Chapter 4 - A Not So Warm Welcome

The Army were heading to camp. Their leader, Heracles, had received some... Peculiar news (curtesy of Artemis). News that had Zeus himself ordering both The Army and The Hunt back to camp. The last time that had happened was when a son of Oceanus was claimed in camp, making the gods panic until Heracles offered him a place in The Army. That was over 300 years ago.

The Army itself had shrunk over the years. Because of recent "Laws", less and less people were feeling abandoned by others, shrinking their recruitable audience. Lately, however, they had managed to allow people who seek freedom and adventure to join.

Currently they were traveling with the elite of The Army - only seven people (including Heracles himself), but all had proved they were the best of the best. All remained the eternal age of teenagers, from 15-18 years of age, the peak of their ability.

First there was Zoë Nightshade, his lieutenant, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, champion of Hestia. She had been there since the beginning, training the troops from everything she had learned, from a bow and arrow to a great sword.

Second was Clarisse Nightshade, the adopted sister of Zoë. The demigod daughter of Ares was the second oldest in The Army, being born at the collapse of Greek Civilisation. Abandoned at birth, she was forced to learn how to survive in the crumbling world, until Zoë found her and took her under her wing. Ares was forever grateful, thus blessing Zoë and fully backing The Army for taking in his favourite daughter.

Third was Luana Di Lodovico. She was a daughter of Athena and Michelangelo Di Lodovico, and was abandoned by her father after he pursued his artwork in the early 15th century. As there was no proof of her birth and her connection to Michelangelo, she was forced to the streets until she joined The Army (whilst guided by Athena) and became the brains behind the operation after being blessed by Minerva, her mother's Roman equivalent.

Fourth was Pacific Jedem. Born in the late 18th century, the son of Oceanus was the first demititan for over a millennium. His mother, Jonine Jedem, was a slave who knew who Oceanus was and named her son in his honour. She was murdered by her 'owner' after she refused to let Pacific work at the age of six. The gods found him at the age of nine, when he was street performing with powers stronger than a son of Poseidon could possess. He joined The Army after Heracles vouched for him, and married Clarisse not long after his 19th birthday.

Fifth was Louise Waterskate, daughter of Hecete. Born in 1902, she was orphaned in the first mortal World War from her father and step-mother. She was brought into The Army by Luana, after Hecete herself asked Heracles nor his assistance. Because Louise was very gifted with her mother's magic, she became one of the strongest demigod children ever to be born out of the minor gods.

Lastly was Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades. Born in 1924, Nico joined The Army after being brought there by Alecto of the Erinyes, after both his mother and sister died from Zeus. He became one of the best fighters in The Army, and could provide support through the expendable skeletons he can summon.

Overall, the elite group operated more like a family than an army, their status in The Army mainly used to control the rest of it.

Zoë appeared out of a column of flame in front of the group. Being the champion of Hestia gave her strong manipulation over fire and the ability to know where someone's home is, but also gave her control over some very shocking areas that Hestia hid very well. No one out of the elite group knew that if Hestia wanted to, she could bring the whole of Olympus to their knees.

Currently, Zoë was conflicted. She had quickly traveled to camp to see what the commotion and urgency was, and found out that it was over the arrival of an insanely strong demigod that may be a Demi-primordial. Yet his friend drew her eye, not because of his looks, but because of something else. She told Heracles this, that she knew Hylas was alive, but she didn't tell him that about six months ago he moved, to somewhere in reach. And now she had found him, found her best friend's lover after thousands of years.

Yet, something compelled her not to.

The boy with Hylas. One look at the twelve year old made her stop. He was there, in the camp with Chiron and the other campers, but she was spotted. Not only that, he looked at her and put a finger to his lips, as if to tell her to stay quiet, before flicking his wrist and sending her back. Even the hidden power she had received from Hestia didn't halt him.

He was powerful, and even though it should've scared her, it didn't. And that in itself scared her.

"Zoë." Heracles greeted her when she returned. "Did you find out what we're needed for?"

She nodded. "Two children have arrived at the camp."

"Their parentage?" He asked.

"One is assumed to be the demi-child of Gaia."

He was quiet for a moment. "And the other...?"

"Undecided, from what I could tell."

He nodded and smiled at her. He could tell she was keeping something to herself, but he let it go. He had learnt the hard way that pushing wouldn't do anything.

Zoë, on the other hand, realised why she didn't want to tell. The boy played a small part, but actually seeing Heracles showed her that it wasn't fear of the boy, it was fear of what Hylas could do. Would Heracles disband The Army for his lover? Would he condemn all the members to the loneliness that they had tried to escape form?

Only time would tell, and she hoped that they wouldn't meet just yet, so they could stay a family, even if it was just for a week longer...

Percy and Hylas sat quietly in the minivan. They were being taken to Camp Half-Blood by Argus (the false Giant) who had been lurking in the shadows near Chiron. Alecto, after realising the predicament, unfroze shortly after their announcement and scowled at them before disappearing into the shadows. Chiron left to inform the gods, leaving Grover with the two not-so-demigods.

"So..." Grover bleated warily. "You're both half-bloods, eh?"

They just looked at him, making his throat feel dry. He shifted nervously, suddenly regretting sitting with them. He heard Hylas sigh and mutter "Stupid goat.", grabbing his attention. He was now looking out the window, looking bored, while Percy sat unusually still, his eyes unfocused.

So, for the rest of the journey, they were silent, Hylas moving like a normal demigod while Percy sat eerily still, as if he didn't even suffer from ADHD. Actually, now that Grover thought about it, when they had transferred, it had said that only Hylas had ADHD, not Percy.

That revelation was halted when Thalia's Pine Tree was spotted, reminding Grover of his past failures. The van slowed to a stop, and the three teenagers exited.

Grover warily walked up the hill, his head twisting and turning to every direction, as if expecting an attack. Hylas strode up confidently, while Percy just eyed the tree with interest. When they reached the border, Grover stopped, slightly confused.

"We rarely get this far without another attack." He muttered. "Maybe because we acted fast...?"

A few campers nearby saw the arrivals. Word spread like wildfire and within minutes, the whole camp was coming to see the new demigods who Chiron had left personally for over six months to watch.

Hylas watched the arriving group warily, while Percy just stared at the tree. Hylas could determine the hierarchy of the camp with only a glance. There were two main groups, one substantially larger than the other. The larger one was lead by a Percy-look-alike, except he was older, his eyes was a sea-green colour, his hair not as dark and his tan not as natural. Behind him was a full array of blondes, brunettes and redheads, lots holding similar features to one another.

The second, smaller group was led by a tall blonde with blue eyes, a notable scar on his face. The group behind him consisted of a small blonde girl with grey eyes (a daughter of Athena, Hylas guessed), a few who had similar traits (his half-siblings Hylas assumed), while the rest had features that didn't match the rest of the campers (children of the minor gods).

But when Hylas looked into the future, to see how things would proceed, before implementing his plan.

"So these are the ones who created the stir..." The Percy-look-alike said. "I'm Achilles Honour son of Poseidon, but you can call me Les."

Hylas noticed his attempt to ignore the other group. "I'm Hylas Theiodamas. This is..." He turned around to Percy, who was still looking at the tree. "...an idiot who just stares at trees, apparently. PERCY!"

Percy turned and looked at everyone. "They call me Perseus Jackson."

Hylas sighed and put a hand over his eyes. He had just gotten used to calling him Percy. "That's not how you should introduce yourself..."

Percy cocked his head to the side. "Then how should I have proceeded?"

"How about something like 'Hi I'm Percy' or a 'Hello!' at least!"

Percy's eyes scanned the crowds. "For this group, my answer was satisfactory." He turned back to studying the tree.

"Sorry 'bout Percy, he kinda has... A problem, yes let's leave it like that." Hylas looked towards the segmented crowds. "Ok, so how about-"

"This tree is alive."

Silence greeted this statement.

"Yes, because trees generally aren't alive." Les sneered. "You should leave the retard, Hylas."

"Hey, don't insult him!" Hylas snapped back.

"Ooh..." One of the bulky kids behind Les said (a son of Ares, Hylas noted). "Are you a faggot with him?"

"Terry, that's uncalled for!" Said the daughter of Athena behind the blond boy.

"What does 'faggot' mean?" Percy asked.

"It means gay." 'Terry' sneered.

"Oh, you mean homosexual?" Percy asked.

"Yes..." The daughter of Athena said.

"How is that an insult?" He asked. "Homosexuality has been around since before man. Many great people were homosexual. Heracles was, so was Zeus and Apollo, even Poseidon from time to time. Why would what happened between Hylas and his male lover concern you?"

Everyone was gobsmacked, even the children of Athena had trouble keeping up with him. Les was red in the face in anger, from the insult to his father, and he stormed off back to the camp, dragging his group with him. The rest followed, until only the two blondes were left.

"So are you going to introduce yourselves?" Hylas said, raising an eyebrow.

The girl went first. "Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Luke Castellan... Son of Hermes." He said, slightly wincing at the last part.

Annabeth started. "So, what did Perseus-"

"Percy." Hylas corrected.

She blushed. "Sorry. What did Percy mean?"

"I meant that this tree is alive." Percy said. "Too much power is stored here." Gently resting a hand on the bark, he closed his eyes for a moment. "It is a girl. A demigod, a daughter if Zeus."

Both had gone white. "How... How did you know?" Luke asked in a whisper.

"'The desire of knowledge, like the thirst for riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it.'" Percy quoted.

"Laurence Sterne." Annabeth said.

"Indeed, Annabeth." He said, opening his eyes and removing his hands. "In three days, come back here." With that, he walked off down to the big house in the camp.

After a moments silence, Annabeth breathed. "He sounds like a god." She whispered.

"You never know what others are hiding." Hylas said, looking meaningly at Luke, who gulped nervously, before following his friend.

Annabeth looked between the two suspiciously before running back to camp.

Chiron stood nervously in the throne room of the gods. He had always held he power to summon an emergency court (which only the twelve Olympians themselves could do), but this was the second time he had used it. The only other time was when he discovered Pacific, son of Oceanus 300 years ago.

It took twenty minutes, but the whole council (plus Hades and Hestia) had assembled before him, most looking annoyed while Athena looked worried (probably remembering the last time he had done that).

"Chiron." Zeus greeted neutrally. "What caused you to demand court?"

"Lord Zeus, I believe we have a significant problem." He stated.

"Which is...?" Hera tapped impatiently. She had never liked centaurs, no matter how different Chiron was to his almost-kinsmen.

"Two half-bloods have arrived at camp."

Ares snorted. "'Cause that never happens." Aphrodite frowned disapprovingly.

"One of them is undecided, but the other one..." Chiron took a deep breath. "The other one is most likely a demigod child of Gaia herself." Chiron proceeded to tell the council of the arrival of Antaeus and the Giant's retreat.

Silence greeted his words. The gods shifted nervously until Zeus and Poseidon exchanged a few words.

"That would make sense." Zeus said slowly. When a few eyebrows of the other gods were raised, he elaborated. "At the winter solstice, both Poseidon and I witnessed a theft. I am willing to think that Hades did too." Hades nodded stiffly. "What was stolen was my Thunderbolt, Poseidon's Trident and..."

"My Helm of Darkness." Hades supplied.

"But how were they stolen?" Hephaestus asked. "Divine weapons cannot be held by someone of mortal blood without incineration."

"He is a son of Gaia." Athena said. "Many ancient laws involving demigods does not include him. The blood of Gaia protects him."

"Then we kill him." Dionysius said. "Make it so one less brat is in that camp."

"Stupid." Hestia said, surprising everyone.

"Sister..." Zeus said carefully. She may not be on the council, but she was still one of the oldest gods in attendance, second only to Aphrodite. "What do you mean?"

"Gaia has never had a half-blood child before." Hestia smiled. "Not only that, she is fiercely protective of her children, even in her sleep. You said Antaeus refused to fight him. Think of all the children of Gaia, their combined power. If you manage to even hurt her favourite son, do you think his siblings would allow it?"

"They are imprisoned!" Hera said loudly. "They do not have the power-"

"Don't think for a moment, dear sister, that we are more powerful than them!" Hestia hissed.

"She's right." Artemis said. "Take Typhon for instance. It took all thirteen of us to just put him to sleep, and that was just barely. If we handle this wrong, the child could go against us all. With both Gaia and her children behind him..." She shivered.

Zeus sighed. "My daughter is right. Chiron, when the child is claimed, send him on a quest. Any quest will do. We need to see if he is trustworthy." Chiron nodded. "We will be watching very closely." He turned to Artemis. "Contact Heracles and tell him to bring The Army to camp. Do the same with The Hunt." She nodded.

"I want everyone to keep an eye on them. Dismissed!" Zeus clapped his hands and vanished, shortly followed by the rest of the council. Hestia approached Chiron.

"Just step into the flames, and it will take you to camp." She said with a smile. He nodded, and walked into the impossibly-tall flames of the hearth.

The whole camp had been summoned by Chiron to the amphitheatre. Hylas and Percy were sitting next to Luke, with a clear divide between his and Les' group. Both were in seep thought.

Hylas was thinking about his plan. By the pine tree, he mentally told Percy to behave slightly differently, more socially ignorant than usual, while h behaved more carefree than usual. It had worked, and they were now on Luke's side.

Percy was thinking of the council that he had witnessed. They wanted him to go on a quest to prove his 'loyalty' to them, once he was claimed. He was going to do that in the midst of Chiron's introduction, after already informing Hylas. Movement in the trees near the fire caught his attention. A girl, around 16 years old, was there, blending in the darkness. She was working with the earth, using it to cloak her presence, but he noticed her. They locked eyes for a moment, before he put his finger to his mouth and flicked his wrist, sending her away.

"Campers!" Chiron announced, quelling all noise. "We have received two new campers today!" He gestured to both Percy and Hylas to stand next to him, so they did. "Meet Perseus Jackson and Hylas Theiodamas!"

"Parentage?" Someone called from behind Les.

Chiron opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when two symbols floated above their heads. Above Percy was the whole earth, in all it's glory, with the land masses shifting and cracking, showing the magma underneath. Above Hylas was three pairs of hands: one holding a ball of yarn, another knitting it, and the last one holding a pair of ornate golden scissors.

Chiron stepped back quickly, as did the whole camp. "All hail Perseus Jackson, son of Gaia, mother of earth and Hylas Theiodamas, fate weaver of the Moirai, rulers of destiny."

Everyone looked incredibly nervous, but Hylas noticed that one of Luke's eyes flickered gold for a split second, making him smile inwardly. Their true identities was made known to the right side...

Ok here are important bits:

1- Clarisse is old. It is important. Duh.

2- Nico didn't go into the Lotus Casino, and his sister, Bianca, died with his mother. Also about his birth year... I have no clue when he was born. Apparently he was born in 1924 in the Camp-Half Blood Wiki, so that's what I'm using.

3- The romance between Zoë and Percy will take a little time. This will follow the first book (ish), disregard the second (and weakest) book, before starting in the third book where things will REALLY spice up... Just wait until then! :3

~Nom Nom :3