You all know I don't own PJO or HOO. Please review, hope you like it!

Percy POV

Chaos opens a black portal, gesturing me to go through. Gulping, I step in, instantly feeling sick. One millisecond later, I find myself on all fours, trying not to throw up. I feel a pat on my shoulder. I look up and see Chaos smiling sympathetically at me.

"Don't worry. After one or two more portals, you'll get used to it."

I groan, getting up. I gasp at what I see. In front of me is a gigantic palace, one so majestic it makes Olympus look like a cave. Yeah, I know. Not a very good comparison. But right now, I'm just kind of busy gawking. Annabeth would have loved it. I mentally slap myself at that. Don't think about her. I shake my head and follow Chaos up the steps. I marvel at everything. Chaos leads me through hundreds of corridors and hallways. Left, left, right, left, left, left, right, right… I wonder how he finds his way around here. Then again, he's probably lived here for a really, really, really long time. Finally, we stop in front of two gigantic doors, decorated with all kinds of stones. Chaos push them open easily, although they seem really heavy to me. Once inside, I gasp yet again. The whole room is bright and beautifully decorated with statues, stones, fountains…etc. In the center of the room are six thrones, all of them different. Once of the two center ones and the biggest is obviously Chaos's. Like his skin, the throne is pitch black, with constantly moving galaxies and planets and stars. Right above where the person's head would be, there was a large black star diopside engraved in the throne. (A black gemstone that reflects a star shine.) Right next to it is a plain gold throne, decorated by nothing at all. The other four thrones are all the same size. One, on the other side of Chaos's, is fiery red, and seems to be aflame. It radiates heat, and at the top of the throne, a fire opal is embedded. I step back from that one, for as a son of Poseidon, I don't like fire that much. Next to the fire throne is a white and sky blue throne with wind designs. Around the throne, wind seems to blow every second. The gemstone embedded is a white moonstone. On the other side, next to the plain throne, is a throne I admire. It is colored in different shades of blue, and waves seem to roll on it. At the head of the throne lies a beautiful blue opal. I smile at it, before inspecting the next one. It is a gentle brown color, and I feel as if I touched it, it would be moist and cool, like earth. A big smoky quartz is embedded in the throne.

As I look around, I realize that there are smaller thrones on either side, all of them a different design, but none with gems as big as the six main thrones.

"Percy!" Chaos says. I look at him. He gestures at me to come closer.

"I've called the Elemental Council. They'll be here in a few minutes."

Confused, I ask "What's the Elemental Council?"

"The council is made of the sixteen commanders in my army. Each of them holds a different element, much like your gods. But my commanders have a more powerful hold over their element. Each commander holds a different sector of my army. Four of them, called the Guardians, control the four 'main' elements: fire, water, air, and earth. They each hold four of the five elite forces. You know what? I'll just let them explain. I get mixed up every time. Let's just wait until they get here." Chaos rambles. I nod nervously. I wonder what these commanders look like. They must be powerful, if they're the ones who command Chaos's army. But there's something bothering me. After a few seconds of hesitating, I decide to ask. After all, what do I have to lose?

"Chaos, can I ask you a question?" He smiles, an inside joke kind of smile, and replies.

"You already have, Percy." I frown, trying to figure it out. When I finally do, I roll my eyes a little.

"Uh… I… have a question." He nods, signaling at me to go on.

"When you recruit new soldiers for your army, do you usually introduce them to the commanders? I mean… they're busy enough already without a meeting every new recruit… right?" At that, Chaos chuckles.

"You shall see, young Perseus. You will find out soon." I shrug indifferently. I can wait a little, right? After that, we both stand there, me continuing to admire the room, Chaos checking his watch every few seconds, muttering under his breath. After a minute or two, the doors open and a single figure enters. It's a tall boy, about 18, with sleek sandy hair and bright gray eyes with a few black dots. He bowed quickly to Chaos, looked quizzically at me, and sat down at the throne on the far left, the gray-and-black one with a plain black rock embedded. As he sat, he took out a smooth gray rock and started playing with it, throwing it away from him and willing it back to his hand. I stare at him for a few seconds, before I hear the sound of a door opening. This time, a thin boy with pitch-black hair and pitch-black eyes enters, and I wince a little. He reminds me a lot of Nico. I shake my head. I can't think about them. I made a choice when I agreed to join Chaos. I snap out of my thoughts. One by one, the commanders come in: a girl with long bright, almost white hair, and glowing yellow eyes, a boy with dark green hair and bright green eyes, a girl with silky blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes, a girl with windblown short pale hair and pale eyes… They kept on coming, each of them settling in their thrones, striking up conversations. Most were around my age, although there was one small boy, with multicolor hair and bright blue-and-purple eyes, who looked around the age of six. He sat in a throne 4 seats away from the boy with sleek blonde hair. It seemed way too big for him, his legs dangling from the edge of the throne. The throne itself was colorful, decorated with a bunch of beach balls and board games, like snakes and ladders. His stone was a bi-color ametrine, matching the color of his eyes. Finally, everyone was settled in, except for one, the one that would be sitting in the fire throne. A few minutes later, he comes, grinning madly. He's about 17, like me, and he has fiery red hair and orange eyes. He mutters a quick apology at Chaos, flashes me a puzzled look, and jogs over to his seat. Chaos walks over to his throne, standing just in front of it. He gestures at me to join him, and, a little embarrassed at the stares I'm getting, I stand beside him. Once I do, he starts talking.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice, everyone. You're probably wondering why I have summoned you. The answer is standing right beside me." He says, and I sense 16 pairs of eyeballs staring at me intently. I blush a little. Chaos keeps going.

"As you all know, I have been looking for someone to command my army for a long time now, and yet I haven't found one until now. Let me introduce you to your new commander." My eyes widen, and I look at him incredulously. What? I look around, and I can see that the commanders are all as shocked as I am. One of them, a girl with shoulder-length electric blue hair and blue eyes raises her hand.

"Yes?" Chaos calls, nodding at the girl.

"Excuse my interruption, Lord Chaos, but how can you be sure he is the one destined to lead our armies? Could we at least know who he is?"

Chaos acknowledges her words with a nod and turns to me.

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" I glance nervously at the teenagers (and child) in front of me, and open my mouth hesitantly.

"Uh… hi. First of all… I want to say that this is a total surprise for me, too. Chaos- Lord Chaos just asked me if I wanted to join his army, and I said yes. Anyways… I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Nice to meet you." Some of them seem to recognize my name. I hear a few whispers. There's an awkward silence. Then, Chaos comes to my rescue.

"Well, now that he's introduced, I would like to place a vote. Most of you have heard of Perseus, haven't you?" I see heads nodding. "For those who do not know, let's just say Perseus here has saved Earth more than once. He is quite capable to be your leader. Now, time for the vote, although I doubt it will change my mind. All in favor for letting Perseus undergo the trial?" The trial? That sounds scary. And painful. Before I can protest, hands come up. Before long, all the hands are up. I'm not sure how to react, so I just smile a little. Chaos, looking delighted, claps his hands.

"Alrighty then! Time for the trial!" He says, and then he hands me… a sword. As far as I can tell, it's just a normal sword. It looks dull, like the throne next to Chaos's. Although… I think I have a fairly good idea of who it's for. I take the sword. For a moment, nothing happens, and I look at Chaos, confused. But before I can get a proper look at his face, an agonizing pain shoots through me, making me yell.

Mark (Flame) POV

As Percy takes the sword, we brace ourselves. This has happened before… and it has never ended well. He yells, and a wall of pure energy surrounds him. Although he seems like he's in pain, he doesn't drop the sword, which is glowing green. I widen my eyes in surprise. This has never happened before! In all the cases before him, the person dies, their body and mind not being able to contain the energy. But this time… Percy seemed to be absorbing the energy. Since my throne is directly next to Chaos's, I can feel the energy flowing from him even more than the others. We all wait for it to die down. Some have their hands over their ears, Percy's yell being so loud. I wince a little as the wall of energy expands and touches the corner of my throne. Whistle, the Guardian of air, notices and looks in surprise at me. I know why. I never wince. Never. I look at Percy again, this time with respect. Finally, the energy dies down, and Percy slumps on the ground, hand still gripping the sword. There's a collective gasp. The once plain sword of Chaos is now the most majestic one I have ever seen. The blade is a shiny black with a sea-green tint, and the point is silver-gold, gleaming in the light. The cross-guard itself looks deadly, the points of it like a dagger. The grip is sea-green, and looks both soft and hard. The pommel is made of Chaotic diamond, a beautiful milky-white gem that changes color, depending on the owner's mood. Now, it is a dark gray, meaning he is confused.

Percy stands up, looking a little ruffled. I hear a few girls swoon, and I roll my eyes. I can understand why they do, though. His uncontrollable raven hair was longer, sticking out in all directions. His sea-green eyes were a darker sea-green, and there seemed to be light gold-and-silver spots in them. His skin was tanner than before, and his lean figure was more muscled. To add to the look, sprouting from his back were wings, gigantic gleaming black wings that reflected sea-green, gold, and silver. I have to admit they were beautiful. The new leader looks once at his wings and freaks out. Then, he glances at us, obviously having no idea what is going on. Then, Chaos breaks the shocked silence.

"All hail, Perseus Jackson, leader of Chaos's army, second in command of the universe, Guardian of creation." For a few seconds, we stare, shocked. Then, everyone jumps out of their seats and rushes to Percy's side, clapping him on the back, introducing themselves, bombarding him with questions. I grin at him. I have this feeling we're going to be great friends.