Thanks a bunch for the reviews and favorites! It made my day! So here's and update. I don't own PJO or HOO. Duh.

Time Skip

Percy POV

"Percy! Wake up already! Chaos called a meeting! Come on, wake up, you're gonna be late again!" Mark's voice yells from behind the door. I groan, turning my body away from the door. Grumbling a little, I sit up from my bed and rub my eyes. I can tell Mark is waiting for an answer. I snap my fingers and the door opens. A grumpy Mark comes in, dressed in his meeting clothes. He raises an eyebrow at my pajamas and slumps down on a beanbag chair. I change quickly into my meeting clothes and follow my best friend out of my room. As we make our way to the throne room, Alex joins us, and as a greeting, I give him a light punch in the arm.

Ever since I came here and became leader of the Army, Mark, Guardian of fire, and Alex, Guardian of earth, are my best guy friends. Alex has earthy brown hair and hard brown eyes. As for their personalities, they match their domain. Mark, like fire, can be warm and welcoming, but if pushed over the top, he's uncontrollable. Plus, he has very little patience. Nevertheless, he was loyal and my best friend. Alex, also known as Quicksand, was much more calm and controlled, and had lots of patience. But if somebody really annoyed him, he blew up, like an earthquake. Mark came from Magma, a planet made entirely of lava and fire. The inhabitants were all born with fireproof skin, but not with fire powers. When Mark was born and it was discovered that he had such powers, the ruler of Magma had ordered his army to kill him, not wanting anyone in his kingdom to be more powerful than he. Chaos had saved him at the last second and had made him a Guardian. Alex was from Earth, like me, and was a demigod son of Gaea (don't ask me how.) Chaos had saved him just as a horde of monsters was about to kill him and had made him Guardian of Earth. All three of us are inseparable, and we tell each other everything. Although the whole council knows who I really am, Mark, Alex, Jyma, and Sheyla are the only ones, along with Chaos, to know my whole life. Maybe I should explain. The four I just mentioned are the four Guardians, so my closest friends and advisors. Jyma, or Breeze, the Guardian of Air, has long transparent hair and glowing white eyes, along with pale skin. Sheyla, aka Tempest, Guardian of Water, has clear blue hair and deep blue eyes.

Along with them, 12 other commanders form the Council. We all have code names, since we all have a pretty dark past. I go as Genesis now, although the Council and Chaos still call me Percy when no one else is around. It's been 5000 years since I joined. Everyday, I train with my powers and weapons, or go on some mission to save the universe or whatever. I've already mastered most of my powers, but I know there are still lots of powers locked deep inside of me. Training has paid off; I can fight Chaos and win sometimes. Well, that's it for the explanation.

Together, Alex, Mark and I open the doors and walk into the throne room. Luckily, we're not late, but most of the commanders are already here. The only ones missing are Xavier, the one who always stays in kid form and commander of fun and games, Bella, commander of love and beauty, and Shadow, commander of darkness. Everyone else is on their throne, talking and goofing around with each other. I sit on my throne, right next to Chaos's. It's not plain and dull anymore. It changed when I touched Reaper, my main sword. It matches Reaper's design and its gem is Chaotic diamond. Soon, the remaining commanders come in, and we wait for Chaos.

He flashes in soon enough, looks at each of us, settles down on his throne, and starts the meeting.

"I have called you here for a new mission… but some of you will not like it. I can sense trouble brewing on a planet. It won't be for a few years in their time, but they are not ready. Some of you must go to help them prepare for the war that is coming. And I already know who I shall be sending."

Mark (Flame) POV

"I already know who I shall be sending."

I lean forwards. War? Mission? Trouble? Sounds good. Chaos continues.

"Percy, you will be going on this mission, along with your soldiers. You may choose seven other commanders to accompany you." Percy smiles.

"I choose Mark, Alex, Jyma, Sheyla, Xavier, Shadow, and… Beam." No surprise there. I raise my hand, and Chaos nods at me.

"Where are we going?" Chaos glances at Percy nervously. Chaos nervous? This must be bad.

"You will be going… to Earth." My eyes widen and instantly go to Percy. Although some others come from Earth, Percy is the one who: 1-Has the worst experience from there 2- Is almost uncontrollable when angry. He instantly becomes red, and the whole room begins shaking. I jump from my throne and run over to him. Jyma does too, and our fingers brush as we reach out to Percy at the same time. I blush. I've had a crush on her ever since she came, which is a long, long time. I quickly look away and touch Percy's shoulder. He relaxes a little, although he still looks angry. The room stops shaking, and Percy looks up at Chaos with murderous eyes.

"You…you promised I wouldn't have to go back!" Chaos is obviously pretty scared, but he manages to reply with a calm voice (or almost.)

"Did I? I do not remember saying that." I grimace. Chaos is testing Percy, to see if he'll explode. Luckily, he doesn't.

"Fine," he spits, "but I'm keeping my identity secret." Chaos nods.

"Of course, Percy. And so will your other companions, if they want to."

I finally decide that Percy is under control, and I speak up.

"When will we be leaving, lord Chaos?"

"Early tomorrow morning. Those of you who are going on this mission, pack your things and alert your troops." We nod and go our separate ways. Percy storms off, closely followed by me and the other three Guardians. After a while, we stop, knowing where he is going: the place he always goes when he needs to cool off. After a few words, we each go to our rooms to pack our stuff. After that's done, I stroll over to my troops' training grounds. Sure enough, they're all mostly here. Diabolo, my lieutenant, sees me and jogs over to me from the archery range. He snaps to attention, but I dismiss it with a wave of my hand.

"What did I say 'bout the formalities, man? We've known each other for like, six thousand years! Please start acting like you do when it's only us!" I say, kind of desperately. He grins a little.

"Something you wanna talk to us about, Commander? Another mission?" Man, this guy reads minds. Literally.

"Yes, Diabolo. On Earth, to be exact." I see him pale a little. He comes from Earth, and he obviously hates it there. He was a demigod legacy, grandson of a daughter of Hades. He hates to talk about his past, so I won't talk about it.

"On Earth? What's going on over there…again?"

"Apparently, evil forces are brewing yet again, and we must go prepare them for the battle to come. I'm guessing the actual whacking and bashing won't be for a few years. I know you don't like it, Diabolo, but we have to. You know Earth is one of Chaos's favorites. Plus, Shadow's battalion is also coming… which means Fos is coming." He instantly blushes and glares at me. I smile inwardly at his major crush on Shadow's lieutenant. He has no idea how to tell her. Then again, I'm in the same boat with Jyma. I quickly change the subject.

"Anyways, we're leaving tomorrow morning, so we've got to pack quickly. Could you pass on the word to the battalion? I have to go check on Percy." My lieutenant nods and hurries away, already yelling things to the soldiers near him. I turn and walk away to look for Percy.

Percy POV

I storm out of the throne room, unaware of everything around me. My feet automatically take me to my favorite place here: the pool. It's pretty big, but it can't compare to Earth's big bodies of water. I dive in, willing my council clothes to change into swimming trunks. The water surrounds me, calming me, soothing me. I start thinking. I don't want to go back. Maybe if time passed the same there as here, I wouldn't care. She wouldn't be there. But time there is much slower than here. And by much slower I mean really, really slower. One thousand years here is only 1 year there. 1 short year. So it's been…5 years since I 'disappeared'. I can't help but wonder how everyone else is doing. Thalia, Nico, Grover, Tyson, Leo, Chiron, Clarisse, the Stolls, the Romans, my mom… I miss them; I know I do, but will I be able to go back without ripping my hood off, revealing my identity? My thoughts shift to the gods. My father… he was always kind to me, even if he wasn't the most attentive dad. I even miss old Dionysus. I shoot out of the water. I will go back. And I'm going to give them a little surprise.

Time skip (next morning)

Mark (Flame) POV

As I walk out the main doors, my bag slung over my shoulder, I frown a little. I can feel something's going to happen. Nothing bad; just something. When I reach the middle of the front yard, where everyone is supposed to meet, I see that my battalion is already here, along with Beam's, Sheyla's, Alex's, and Percy's. I jog over to the four to find them talking about something.

"Hey, guys! Watcha talkin' about?" I say in my usual cheery voice. Percy looks over at me. There's a malicious glint in his sea-green eyes. I grin. I usually love Percy's plans. They're usually risky and stupid, which makes them perfect for me.

"I got an idea. We're supposed to make them prepared for a big war, right? Chaos said they weren't ready. Let's see just how 'not ready' they are." I nod eagerly, urging my best friend along. He continues. "So, I thought we could make a dramatic entrance. They don't know we're coming to help them. We could fake an attack; you know, barge in through the camp barriers like they aren't there and pretend to be enemies. By doing that, we would not only be able to assess their strength, but we'll also have fun humiliating them! Of course, Chaos doesn't want them dead or incapacitated before the actual war, so we'll try not to actually engage them. Just give them a little scare and show them a fraction of our power." When he finishes, I whistle in admiration. I heard from Percy himself that back on Earth, he was called Seaweed brain and Kelp Head. But he's not that Percy anymore. This Percy is our best warrior, our best commander, and our best strategist. Plus, his plans always have a bit of humor in them. Which is why he is my best friend. I grin, giving him thumbs up.

Soon enough, the others come and we fill them in. They all seem to like that idea, since: 1- They just got new battle armor designs and 2- All of them want to see the gods and campers humiliated. As soon as everyone's here, down to the last soldier, Chaos waves us good-bye and opens up a gigantic portal that engulfs us and teleports us… right outside the camp boundaries.

Nico POV

"So, any sign of him?" The lord of the Skies asks to the assembled group of campers, gods, goddesses, satyrs, and nymphs. All he gets is silence. I look down. These meetings are always like this. Sometimes, during "serious" meetings about the mortal world, the gods stray away from the main point and start talking about him. Percy Jackson. My cousin, more like a brother to me.

I am sitting on a chair in the amphitheater at Camp Half-Blood. These days, the meetings are held in camp, not up in Olympus. Anyways, as I was saying, we all miss Percy Jackson. A shrill voice interrupts my thoughts.

"This is getting annoying. Why are you still looking for him, it's been 5 years! Plus, you've got me. I'm largely better than that upstart Jackson. You don't need him!"

Oh, right. I forgot. We all miss Percy Jackson… except for Eric, that stupid son of Zeus, and his brain-washed cronies. I fight the urge to lunge at him. He's the reason he left, him and Annabeth. I glare at her, but she doesn't notice me. She's too busy calming Eric down. The meeting is about to start again when Jack, a Hermes camper, comes running towards us. He looks panicked.

"Intruders! There are intruders in the camp!" Chiron stops him.

"What do you mean, my boy?"

"I-I was on border patrol, and then suddenly- this huge army popped in out of nowhere! One second they weren't there, the next they were! They appeared outside the border… I think they're going to try to make their way here!" At his words, my eyes widen, and I grip my sword. All the campers, satyrs, and naiads rush to the hill, while the gods look at each other for a while and flash away, probably to the hill, too. I'm one of the first to get on the hill, and I almost faint when I see what's in front of me. I see similar reactions around me. A huge army, maybe around eight thousand soldiers, march in neat forms, straight towards us. There seems to be eight different sections: I see eight different armor designs on the different sectors. At the head of each section, stands one person, probably the leader. The commander of the entire army, though, is obvious. At the head of the biggest section walks one man. He wears amazing black, gold, and silver armor with a faint sea-green glow. On his waist hangs a wide variety of swords and knives, and on his back, there is a strange-looking quiver full of arrows. In his hand, he holds a beautiful sword and a small silver stone the size of a fist. He walks confidently, and I can tell he's powerful.

Zeus takes a step forwards, raising his master bolt, preparing to attack. I look around me, and everyone is ready to fight, although most seem frightened at the numbers of the approaching army. We look on as it crosses the barrier without even a hint of hesitation. Finally, they stop only a few dozen meters away from us, at the bottom of the hill. The sector commanders detach themselves from their sections and flank their leader. Zeus doesn't hesitate. He raises his master bolt over his head and prepares to unleash a bolt, when Athena stops him.

"Wait, father. We do not know who they are. From what I can see, they are not monsters. We can try to talk." Zeus snorts but lowers his bolt. Athena turns to the army and speaks.

"Hello. I have not seen you before. Who are you, what are you doing here, and what do you want from us?" Three questions in one sentence. Typical. The leader raises his head, covered by his hood and helmet, and merely stares at her for a few seconds, then, without turning, he flicks his hand towards one of his commanders, the one closest to him. That one steps up.

"We are part of the army of Chaos. We-" He's barely started his second sentence when Annabeth decides to open her big mouth.

"Chaos? What do you mean? You can't possibly be talking about Chaos, the creator of the universe and most powerful being ever. Are you crazy? Evoking his name is risky, you know." I hear some campers mumble. I don't know why, but I think these soldiers are really part of Chaos's army. They look skilled enough, anyways. The commander that spoke growls at her from under his helmet.

"Yes, Spawn of Athena, I am talking about that Chaos. And no we are not crazy. And I didn't think he'll mind that I am saying his name. After all, I have said it many times before. Now, may I continue?" Without waiting for an answer, he keeps talking.

"As I was saying, we are part of the army of Chaos. We are here under orders from him to… how did he put it? Annihilate you. Now, if you would kindly drop your weapons and give in, it will be much less painful. What do you say? Easy way or hard way?" As soon as he stops talking, Zeus becomes tomato red and raises his bolt.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!" As he prepares to hurl it, I hear the commander sigh and mumble "Hard way, then." And he steps back, leaving his leader in front.

Zeus hurls his master bolt at him, the leader who hasn't said a word since he came. Much to Zeus and everybody else on our side's surprise, the leader doesn't even move to duck or run. He simply sheathes his sword with lightning speed and holds out a finger. The bolt flies towards him, and something totally unexpected happens. The bolt kind of gets sucked into the finger and doesn't seem to affect him one bit. He cocks his head sideways, snorts, and, for the first time, speaks.

"Is that your best shot? We did give you a warning." His voice seems familiar… did I meet him on some quest? Who knows. But right now, I have other things to worry about. The Olympians are enraged at being mocked this way. Poseidon calls a huge wave to crash on them, but again, the leader simply puts out a finger, and all that water seems to go into him. After other attempts from other gods, I'm starting to think this is hopeless. But why would Chaos want us destroyed, if that is true? I have no time to linger on that, for the unbeatable leader speaks up.

"I have a deal for you. Choose your best fighter, not a god, to come out and fight any of my soldiers. He or she can choose who he wants to fight. If your champion wins, we'll leave you alone. If my soldier wins, we'll carry on with the original mission. How's that?" The gods seem to realize there's no other choice. Zeus, with his one-track mind, picks his child. No, not Thalia. Eric. I admit he's pretty good at wielding his sword, but he doesn't have a chance against a real, experienced warrior. With an over-confident smile on his face, he strides over to the leader and stops a few meters away from him, keeping his distance.

"So I get to choose?" The leader simply nods. Eric looks among the ranks and finds one. It's a girl, a short, thin girl. Of course he picks someone who he thinks is inferior to him. Of course. The girl walks out of the ranks, and I see some of her fellow soldiers smile. I notice the crest on her chest: dark, with an even darker shape in the middle. Under it, she has another smaller crest, this one rectangular with a single white star. I assume she must be this section's lieutenant. She wears no helmet, so I can see her face perfectly. Hazel hair, very dark brown eyes, long nose, set mouth. She smirks at Eric while he's not looking. I hear a voice from one of the back lines of the army.

"Kick his butt, Fos!" Fos? If I remember my Greek, it means "light." Cool. Fos follows Eric, and immediately the campers and Chaos's soldiers make a make-shift circle. Eric takes out his sword, and so does Fos. Her's isn't beautiful like her leader's, it's simple and plain, although there is a small yellow gem in the middle of the crosspiece. The blade is black, like mine, but I can tell it's not the same metal.

Fos barely has her sword reading when Eric lunges at her, slashing at her head. The soldier dodges behind Eric and smacks the hilt of her sword into his back. He stumbles but regains his balance. He lunges again, this time stabbing at her stomach. She calmly deflects it and disarms him without breaking a sweat. Then, while he's still confused at what just happened, she points her sword at his face… and gives him a small cut, to state that the duel (if it ever was one) is over. Although it is small cut, just deep enough to draw blood, he howls, glares at Fos, and runs to his father. Zeus doesn't really notice him, though. He's to busy looking terrified. Then it hits me. Eric lost. They're going to destroy us. As one, we all look at the leader, who hasn't moved since he gave the challenge. He stares back at us for a while and does something none of us expected. He bursts into laughter. As we stare in confusion at each other, the other soldiers start laughing too, so that the whole army is rolling on their backs soon enough.

When they've finally calmed down, the leader strolls up to Zeus and sticks out his hand. Still confused, Zeus takes it and shakes it nervously, like he expects his hand to be blown up at any second. It doesn't, and the leader lets go of his hand.

"Well, that was quite entertaining. Now, let's get to business, shall we?" At his words, a camper calls out

"So you aren't going to kill us?" The leader seems confused for a moment, and then he chuckles.

"Oh, no. That would completely be against orders." Before we can ask him any more bewildered questions, he continues.

"Everything that just happened was… sort of a test, to see how prepared you all are. You see, we have come to help you, not to destroy you. Lord Chaos sent us here to help you prepare for the war." I frown.

"War?"

He turns to me.

"Yes, war. It is coming, whether you like it or not, and you must be ready for it. Fortunately for you, you still have a year or two left to prepare, and we have been sent here to help you do so, and to help you fight in the battle. Any questions?"

Athena pipes up. What a surprise.

"And why should we trust you? We already know a great evil is rising. But why should we need your help?" There are a few grumbles of agreement from the crowd.

"Because without us, you will have zero chance to survive. And as to why you should trust us, well… because Chaos said so. If you'd like, I can call him here right now, if you want to check." The gods pale at the concept. Athena stutters.

"Um… no thanks. We're fine."

"Really? Alright then. Let's go into the camp, and we'll start the introductions." With those words, he starts walking towards the amphitheater, and his army follows him. As I head there too, I whisper to Thalia:

"How in my father's name are we going to fit all these people in the camp?"

She whispers back

"How do you think, Death Breath? We're just going to have to squeeze. Now shut up and try not to get trampled by this crowd."

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