Chapter 36
Percy took Hazel's hand and led her onto the dropship. There was one guy, a member of Chaos' Army, waiting for them. Or more accurately, waiting for Percy.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed as soon as he saw Hazel.
"She's joining," Percy said in reply.
"I wasn't briefed on this."
"Tough. She's coming."
The guy stared at Percy in total disbelief for a few seconds.
"Your funeral," he said finally, and Percy knew he'd won.
Or at least, he'd won this battle. He hadn't actually considered how Chaos was going to take this. But he figured if she'd been watching him before she'd brought him into the fold, then she had to have seen all the stuff Hazel had done, and she'd know she would be an asset. There was no way she'd turn Hazel away. She was a powerful demigod, and she had a good head on her shoulders. She'd do well in Chaos' Army.
The journey took way longer than Percy remembered, but he figured he was just misremembering. Far too long later, Percy and Hazel departed the main ship that they'd been on for most of the journey, and boarded the second dropship, which left them at the 'airport' where he'd left.
Being back felt… strange. It wasn't exactly like coming home, but it also wasn't not like that. He'd been there for half his life, so he had kind of expected to have that feeling of triumphant return, but the sight of the onyx skyscrapers, and the sparse amenities just looked ominous.
But there were a few sights that made him smile. The fountain where he'd first laid eyes on Sara, right next to the cafe where she'd sat herself at his table and started talking to him. If he looked carefully, he could even make out her apartment.
Hazel, on the other hand, was looking at everything in absolute amazement. She looked a little bit like a kid in a candy store.
"I'll give you the full tour later. Right now, we need to go see Chaos."
She turned to him, wide-eyed, "We're going to talk to Chaos?"
"Well, yeah. How did you think we'd communicate with her? Carrier pigeon?"
"I mean, I just… Wow. We're going to talk to the being who created the entire Universe," she said in awe.
"Listen, Hazel, Chaos is actually pretty normal. And she doesn't really care for those around her to stand on ceremony. Talk to her a bit like you'd talk to a normal person, and if you're very lucky, she'll treat you the same way."
Hazel nodded, but Percy could tell she was barely listening to him.
He led her through the city, eventually arriving at the main attraction of the entire place. The city itself was massive, easily 5 times bigger than NYC, but the population was mostly focused around the building the entire city was clearly built around. The training center housed hundreds of thousands of recruits at any given time, and was suitably massive. As such, mostly everything in the city, built around it. The rest of the city was for the full members of Chaos' Army, and there were plenty of them, but nowhere in the city was as densely concentrated as the city's center.
Percy and Hazel took the elevator up to the top floor, and Hazel was bursting with questions which Percy swore up and down that he would answer after he'd spoken to Chaos. Finally, the doors opened and Percy knocked on the ornate doors that led to the most powerful being in the universe' office.
"Come in," came the sing-song reply.
Percy pushed the door open and walked inside, Hazel trailing him timidly.
"Percy," Chaos greeted, "Welcome back. And you must be Hazel, how do you do?"
Hazel just blinked and bowed deeply, and sputtered a little.
Percy sighed. Chaos, on the other hand, simply chuckled.
"Hazel, do you think I could talk to Percy alone for a few moments?"
With another deep bow, and not a single word, Hazel left the office.
"So," Chaos started, "I see you've taken it upon yourself to serve as a recruiter."
Percy swallowed thickly, all too aware that the woman before him was more powerful than he could ever begin to comprehend.
"She's an asset. You know she is. She's powerful, and she's smart."
"That's not the point," she said softly.
Percy felt himself start to sweat, but tried not to back down, "Then what is the point?"
Chaos sighed, and rose from behind her desk, "The point, Percy, is that my people did months of background research and psychological evaluations before you even laid eyes on me. You didn't know it at the time, but you were being assessed. Then you attacked your brother and got hurt, and you forced my hand. You've worked out quite well, so far, but I still consider those months of research to have been too little than I would have preferred. And now you've brought Hazel along, and I know virtually nothing about her."
Percy was sweating even more now.
"I can vouch for her, she's solid."
"Oh, is she now? Tell me in 1000 words, how she shows the qualities we're looking for. Hell, tell me what those qualities even are," Chaos challenged.
Percy's mouth was so dry he could barely even speak. And Chaos hadn't even raised her voice.
"Percy, I regret to say that you've put me in a rather awkward position."
He looked down at his shoes.
"I'm sorry."
She watched him for what felt like an eternity.
"Why did you do it? Why did you bring her here?"
Percy licked his lips, hoping to make speech a little easier.
"Her husband died while I was there. She was lost. I remembered how being here helped me after Annabeth, and I wanted to do the same for her."
Which wasn't strictly true. Being in Chaos' Realm and training for her Army hadn't actually helped him, just repressed things he should have dealt with a long time ago, but he felt like buttering her up was the better move.
Chaos stayed silent for a while, seemingly evaluating what he said.
Eventually, she said, "You really think she has what it takes?"
Percy couldn't quite help the sigh of relief.
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure."
"Alright, Percy, then I'll make a deal with you. I'll take her on, and I'll put her through the training. I'll keep a very close eye on her, and if she performs well, then everyone's happy. But if she doesn't, then I will hold you accountable. Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
Percy nodded quickly. Truth be told, he didn't know what exactly she would do to him, but he damn well wasn't going to find out. He was going to do whatever was necessary to make sure Hazel succeeded.
"Wonderful. Then I think you should go give your friend the tour. Explain everything she needs to know, and then bring her back here so I can give her my first blessing. After that, I'll send her off and thne you and I can talk about your mission."
Percy nodded and left her office without another word.
Hazel was waiting for him in the outer room, and looked at him expectantly as soon as the door closed behind him.
"So? Am I in?"
"Yeah, you're in. I'm going to give you the tour, and then show you to your training room."
Percy started showing her the Training Center. They were on the top floor, so he worked his way down. First were all the barracks. Long, drab rooms, with lines of beds and flootlockers at their ends. Percy wasn't entirely sure which one was Hazel's, so he just showed her one as an example.
Next up, was the classrooms. Hazel wouldn't be starting in there for a long time, so he didn't spend too much time there. He just showed her the rooms, and explained the different types of lessons they'd be taught by the instructors, and the topics they'd cover. She was fascinated by it all, and Percy couldn't really blame her. He'd been enamored.
Next up, were the training rooms. First he showed her the shooting range, and demonstrated a few of the weapons they used there, just giving her the basics. He knew she'd need them since she was starting from scratch in terms of firearms knowledge, just like he had.
But he didn't have all the time in the world, so he just gave her the most basic advice he had time for, and then moved on. He showed her the Armed Close Quarters Training Room next, told her to be very careful until she got Chaos' second blessing. The assholes she'd be training with would be eager for the opportunity to slice her up.
After that came the Unarmed Close Quarters Training Room, where he let her watch all the other recruits practice their hand-to-hand skills. She wore a look of awe at their speed, just as Percy had all those years ago. Watching them now, they almost looked slow, but he knew for a fact that they were moving almost faster than the human eye could perceive.
With the tour of the Training Center concluded, Percy took a few minutes to show her around the city. He showed her the cafe he liked, and a bar that he had been in once or twice. As he did, he explained that she would be in training for around 200 years if she applied herself, and he also told her all about Chaos' blessing system.
He also gave her some advice on how to handle the other recruits, but not too much. He and the recruits he'd trained with had always been at each other's throats, so he hoped Hazel would fare better. But he did tell her that if diplomacy failed, then she should feel free to crack skulls. She had seemed surprised at that, but he figured she'd see what he meant when she started training.
With nothing else to show or tell her, Percy led Hazel back to Chaos' office, where she received the first blessing. As soon as Chaos' light filled the room, Hazel started convulsing aggressively and Percy rushed towards her but Chaos put a hand up.
"This is normal, just let her get through it."
Percy watched on anxiously, as Hazel convulsed like she was having a seizure. But eventually, she came out of it.
She didn't say anything for a while. All she did was stare around the room, seemingly processing everything as though it was the first time she was seeing it all. Then Percy figured, it was. It was the first time she was really seeing it. He could remember that feeling like it was yesterday. Looking around the room he'd already been in, and seeing it for the first time. Noticing all the minute details that made it so much more beautiful.
Percy and Chaos let Hazel absorb it all in silence. When she was finally ready, Chaos asked,
"How do you feel?"
Hazel took a second to think about her response.
"I feel… Good. Strong."
Chaos smiled softly, "Did Percy explain all this to you?"
Hazel nodded.
"Ok, good. Percy, escort Hazel to Training Room 8. We'll do a full physical workup and take it from there. Once she's all set there, come back and we'll discuss your mission and where we go from here."
Percy nodded, and he and Hazel left Chaos' office. He led her through to the elevator and pushed the button for the 1st floor.
"So, how do you feel?"
"Honestly, I don't know how to even begin to describe this."
Percy smiled. She almost sounded giddy.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. For me, it was like a weight was lifted, that I'd been carrying my entire life. Everything was just so clear."
"Exactly! Like I've been underwater my whole life, and now I'm standing in the sun."
Percy thought that was a pretty good way to put it, despite the fact that he was a son of Poseidon, and as such being underwater was almost more comfortable than the sunshine on dry land.
The elevator dinged and Percy led Hazel to TR 8.
"This the new girl?" an instructor asked Percy as he led Hazel to him.
"She look familiar?" Percy asked sarcastically.
"Give me sass like that and you'll see what happens," the instructor warned.
Percy didn't know very much about the instructor beyond the fact that he was an instructor. But that simple fact meant certain things. It meant that he'd been operational for over 1000 years. And it meant he knew his stuff. Chaos wouldn't put an incompetent in a position where he'd be teaching new recruits. That would be stupid, pure and simple.
And both those things meant that he was more than capable on delivering on any threats he put out there. So, Percy checked himself, bit down a retort, and just gestured at Hazel.
"Hazel Lavesque, she's a demigod. Chaos just gave her her first blessing, and she's here for assessment."
"Wasn't very hard, now, was it?"
Percy bit the inside of his cheek and turned to Hazel.
"Alright, this is where I leave you. Just do everything they tell you to as best as you can, and you'll be fine. My barracks are on floor 89, if you need anything."
After a quick hug and a whispered 'good luck', Percy left her and went back to see Chaos.
In the elevator ride up to the top floor, Percy couldn't help but wonder how often he'd see her from that point onwards. He wasn't even sure when he'd see her next. Between his regular training and his extra sessions with Chaos, he didn't exactly have much time for… well, anything. His schedule left him enough time to get an hour of sleep and nothing more.
But her resolved to put it from his mind. There was nothing he could do to change anything that had happened, and he would just have to accept that she would need to focus on her training, and he'd need to focus on his own.
He re-entered Chaos' office with a clear mind, ready to get into it.
They had a good talk. He told her all about his mission; his method of locating and tracking the various cells and safehouses, how he took care of the money, how he took out the leader and all his lieutenants. Then he told her about joining Artemis and her Hunters, finding and raiding the monster camps, and forming his Squad. He told her everything, in as much detail as he could muster. For her part, Chaos sat there listening patiently, and only interrupted occasionally to ask him to clarify something.
When he was done, she leaned back and sighed.
"Truth be told, I hadn't exactly foreseen so many complications."
Percy tensed up. Was she going to blame him for all this? Tell him he'd been sidetracked far too much, and taken far too long as a result?
"I'm sorry, Percy, I should have sent someone with more experience. It wasn't fair of me to put so much on you when you haven't even finished training yet."
And she did look legitimately regretful.
He shook his head, "Honestly, I'm glad I went. It was good to see everyone again. I needed that, honestly."
She smiled softly, "Well, you handled yourself very well, despite everything that happened."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"Well, right before I left, you told me to avoid making contact with the Olympians. But when I was in front of the council and Zeus was trying to get me to join Artemis' Hunt, you told me to do it. Why?"
"Honestly, it would have been preferable for you to get in and get out without getting mixed up with their nonsense. I mean, I know they're my family and everything, but wow. I find it's best that my operators work without distractions. But when they found out you were there, the best decision, tactically, would be for you to embed yourself with them. That way, when the real war kicks off, you'll have a more solid foundation of trust with them. Your Squad is a perfect example of what I was hoping would happen."
"My Squad? What do you mean?"
"Well, I can't say for certain of course, but I imagine it'll be around for a while. I mean, think about it. The legendary Percy Jackson, after having vanished 20 years prior, returns and handpicks 20 of the best warriors from the two demigod camps to join him, the rest of the members of the Prophesy of 7, the goddess Artemis, and her hunters, to surgically strike at massive camps full of thousands of dangerous monsters. You think they're going to take down the rest of the camps and then fold up and go home?"\
Percy was stunned into silence for a few moments.
"Well, what other option is there?"
"As I said, I can't say for certain, but you did say that each of the demigods who survived until the end, would get a minor wish from the Olympian Council? I have a feeling they'll pull all their wishes together in exchange for keeping the Squad together. Ideally, they'll recruit the best of the best to join, train them up, and the Olympians will use them as a unit for special quests. Hopefully, they can keep it up until we go back for the war. If so, they'll be a significant asset."
Again, Precy was stunned. He had never even thought about something like that happening. He wasn't even sure how to feel about it.
On the one hand, he hated the very thought. The people he had trained, being used as attack dogs by the Olympians. But then he figured with Artemis, his Father, Aphrodite, and a few other allies on the council, they wouldn't be railroaded too bad. And he had done everything in his power to prepare them for anything.
But on the other hand, he was incredibly flattered. The idea that the things he had taught them would be passed down for generations, was no small thing. It was a hell of a legacy to have. Assuming it even happened.
"Anyway, if there's nothing else, I have some work to do. I've told your instructors that you'll resume training tomorrow. Take the rest of the day to get used to being back here, and rest up. Tomorrow, you start up with your regular training, and our 1-on-1 lessons too."
Percy nodded, clearing his mind.
"Ok."
"Here's your new schedule," Chaos said, sliding a slip of paper across the table towards him.
It was a specially made item, just for him. Ordinarily, recruits received their instructions for the day from a notice board, but given his lessons with Chaos, she had apparently gone to the trouble of putting it all on paper for him. He was weirdly grateful for it.
"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."
She offered him one last smile before turning to some work on her desk. He let himself out of her office and went down the elevator, leaving the TC entirely. He wanted to walk around the city for a little while.
He decided to explore some new areas. There was plenty of interesting stuff in Chaos' realm, but it was a weird kind of interesting. There were movie theaters, but they didn't show the kind of movies Percy was used to seing on Earth. From what he could tell by the titles, they were mostly documentaries. All about real-life exploits from Chaos' Operators. He'd have to check some of them out some time.
There were also plenty of bars and cafes, but there were no tables for groups at any of them. There were just tables, and a single chair in front of each one. There was nothing for group outings. It was the same for every cafe, every bar, every place where one would normally expect to find people in groups. It was just weird.
But as Percy walked around the city, he found a place that seemed to be in violation of that assumed rule. There was a bar; a very unassuming one, seemingly made of red brick and wood, that looked like a place he might find on Earth. There were tables arranged for multiple people there. And even more shockingly, there were groups of people there. He saw 8 guys sitting at a single table, all of them drinking and laughing together, arms around each others' shoulders. They looked like a US Army recruiting commercial.
There was something weird about the guys. Everyone he had encountered in Chaos' realm, and all the people he'd met during either of his missions, had a very particular appearance. They had short, neat hair, carefully maintained fingernails, no facial hair, and they all stood ram-rod straight. Percy liked to think it was because they all had a stick up their asses.
But this group had none of that. Their hair was long, and relatively messy. Their fingernails were long too. Not like some girls he had seen in bars, whose nails coud be used to open mail; just longer than he usually saw. Of the 8 guys, 5 of them had beards. And not a single one of them was observing proper posture. They were all leaning back in their seats, or forward on their elbows.
The whole image was utterly bizarre. Percy tried to use his powers to listen in on their conversation, but he found himself unable to. Confused, he cast his attention the other way, and was able to hear a keyboard clacking on the other side of the city. Brows furrowed, he turned his attention back to the bar with the weird guys, and still couldn't hear anything in there.
Then he felt it. There was a weird kind of energy coming off the place. Or rather, encircling it. Whatever it was, it almost seemed to be blocking the place off to him. He couldn't smell, feel, hear, or taste anything going on in there.
He couldn't help but wonder what the hell the place was. Not to mention its occupants.
But there was no way he was going to go inside. He got the feeling the guys at the table wouldn't take kindly to his wandering. And something told him that he didn't want to mix it up with this group.
—-
Percy spent the rest of his day working out in the gym, practicing his shooting, brushing up on his close-up knife skills, and - perhaps most importantly - resting. He hadn't had the chance for some real rest in a long time, and he wasn't going to get the chance to have some at all for the foreseeable future, so he took the opportunity when he got it.
He woke up the next day after a full 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep, ready to get started.
First thing was first; Close Quarters Unarmed Combat Training, or CQUCT. It didn't go as well as Percy had thought, truth be told. He'd hoped that he would come back and see that his skills had improved after his time on Earth. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he'd thought that would be the case. In fairness to him, he'd been bumped up another few years by Chaos as a reward for mission success, but still. The other recruits were running circles around him.
Ok, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it still wasn't great. He finished the class with many more bruises than he had come to expect from it. One thing was for damn sure. He was not looking forward to the Close Quarters Armed Combat Training, or CQACT.
And his worries were well-founded. He walked away from it with dozens of cuts and slashes all over his arms and across his mid-section. He liked to think he'd given as good as he got, but he really wasn't sure if that was true. Checking his schedule, he saw that he had a string of classroom activities for the rest of the day, and then marksmanship to finish off.
Classroom activities.
Sara.
Maybe. He really wasn't sure what her schedule looked like anymore. She'd been with his class before he'd left, but he'd been pushed ahead since then, and each class had their own set of instructors.
Would Sara still be part of his training? Had she changed classes too?
Probably not. There was no reason to assume she'd change because of him, and there was no other reason for it that he could think of.
Sure enough, when their Fieldcraft instructor walked in, it was not Sara. He was a blonde guy, who looked around 30 years old, but was obviously much, much older. He seemed incredibly strict, but competent. Percy was willing to give him a shot.
And that faith turned out to be well-placed. The blonde guy knew his stuff. And Fieldcraft was an interesting subject anyway. They spent a few hours being instructed on how to conduct covert surveillance, and how to live for weeks on end, in inhospitable environments. They also touched on weapns maintenance, and sources of water and nutrition. It was interesting stuff, and certainly important.
After that came Spycraft, taught by the same guy, and then Intelligence and Counterintelligence. It was a lot to take in, but Percy committed himself to it as best as he could, and took fierce mental notes of everything he was told.
By the time the classroom sessions were over, Percy's body was mostly healed. The shallow cuts and scrapes had sealed up and now were little more than dull pink lines. The bruises had gone from dark blue, to a weird green color which meant they were healing. Hopefully.
Then came the class that Percy was probably the least worried about. Shooting. Today would be handguns and assualt rifles, and Percy was feeling pretty confident. He hadn't done that much shooting during his years on Earth - certainly not as much as in his average day in Chaos' Realm - but he had still done a fair bit, so he was sure his skills wouldn't have diminished terribly.
And as it turned out, he was right.
Using Chaos' standard issue pistol, he could hit a grape off a pinhead at around 150 meters without slowing down to aim. And, as was the most important part of most skills, he could repeat the action. They had 15 targets set up in a row, and each recruit had to put a round in the right spot, down to the millimeter, on all 15. It wasn't easy. A few recruits failed, and were subsequently subjected to the appropriate amount of ridicule by the instructors.
Then they moved on to assault rifles. Percy's new class had a different system than the one his old one had employed. It was almost like an obstacle course. Each recruit would sling an assault rifle with a full magazine and put 3 rounds in a target around 500 meters away. Then they would sprint through a series of mini-obstacles before arriving at the next bit of cover, where they would take 3 more shots at a target around 600 meters away. They would continue that way 13 more times, the distance increasing each time, the angle getting worse, and the killzone getting smaller.
Needless to say, it was difficult. By the time Percy had made it through his first lap, he was panting, and he could feel sweat beading up on the back of his neck and upper back. But he had done pretty damn well for his first time on the course. 45 shots taken; 44 hits. One of his rounds had been a bit hasty, and he'd missed the designated area by about half an inch. He'd been given one hell of an earful for that one. They ran it 3 more times before moving on to the next thing.
Eventually, they were released for the rest of the day, which meant Percy's training with Chaos about to start.
He went to her office and found her in her usual place; sitting behind her desk, focused on work the breadth of which someone like Percy couldn't even begin to understand. She looked up at him with a tired smile.
"How was your first day back?"
"Exhausting. I didn't think I'd get rusty while I was away, but I'll be back to tip-top shape soon."
"It happens. I'd be stunned if you managed a training schedule as relentless as this while you were away. But anyway, I trust you're ready for more?"
Percy nodded and she smiled again. She rose from behind her desk and walked over to him. Putting a hand on his arm, Chaos transported them to her pocket dimension, where time slowed down. It looked different pretty much every time she took him there, and this time was no exception. It looked like they were in the middle of a football field that had been enlargened proportionally, making him feel like an ant, and there was a bunch of gym equipment scattered all over the place, seemingly half-heartedly, but Percy knew it wouldn't be.
Chaos explained that she wanted to get his endurance up, as that would help him the most during his day-to-day training, which Percy figured was fair enough. She detailed a circuit he would run at a full sprint, and all the exercises he would do at each stop. Then she told him he'd do it 10 times without pause, and if it looked like he was starting to slow down, she'd make him do another 5. Her threat ringing in his ears, he took off at a full sprint.
Their entire session went a lot like that. He ran more than he ever had in his life, and probably covered hundreds of miles over the countless hours she pushed him for. By the end, he was a wreck. She practically carried him to his bed after he was done.
But despite his intense exhaustion, he found he couldn't fall asleep immediately. Instead, he laid in his bed, thinking about his day. His first day back in over 2 years.
It had been pretty miserable.
Even in his darkest days back on Earth, he'd been surrounded by his friends. The people he loved. With the exception of Chaos and Hazel, he hadn't spoken to anyone he actually liked since coming back. For probably the first time since he'd joined Chaos, he felt himself doubt if this was what he really wanted. Did he want to be away from his friends - his family - for so long? From the sounds of things, he wouldn't exactly have time off when he joined fully. He'd see them when the war Chaos was worried about finally happened, and then he'd just leave again when it was over. What next? Was there a retirement plan for Chaos' operators? He knew that her people could leave whenever they wanted. That was the advantage of a multi-billion-person organization. It didn't really matter how important you were; you could be replaced fairly easily.
But is that something he would want to do? Maybe he'd quit one day. Once he'd served with Chaos for a while and paid his debt, he could just tell her that he was done, and that would be that. He could go back to Earth, kill Jack, and live his life with his friends. He could do so much for the younger demigods. Knowing what he knew, and having the experience he had, he could help them in so many ways.
But the number of demigods he could ever help, was dwarfed by the amount of people he could help if he stuck it out with Chaos' Army. Her people went all over the universe, and helped countless people. There would be no comparison. The objectively better route, would be to stick with Chaos. But that didn't mean he liked it. And it didn't mean he stopped missing his friends.
He shook himself.
He wasn't even in yet. Maybe he would feel differently by then. Maybe he'd see the up-side in life as one of Chaos' Operators. Or maybe he wouldn't. He'd see when it happened.
A/N: Ok, that's a wrap on that one. Shorter chapter this time at around 5K words, but that's not too bad. I do like the idea of Percy having doubts about CA, and everything like that. Now that he's seen his friends again and he isn't repressing that whole side of himself anymore, he's starting to see how much he misses the brighter parts of home. All part of his recovery. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this one. Stay safe.