Genre: Romance/Adventure

Rated: T

Summary: Percy left Camp Half-Blood because the new camper whom he had helped made his life at Camp miserable. Unsure of where to go, he finally accepted the Powerful-Guy-In-Black's offer to go to this place called 'the City of Protogenoi', without knowing that his whole new life had begun the day he said 'yes' to the guy!

Setting: 3 months after the last Olympian. Heroes of Olympus never happened.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Everything belongs to Rick Riordan.

Chapter22: Chaos Is Awesommme!

Announcements

First: I'm going to rewrite the story at some point. I've been meaning to tell you this, but surprise! I couldn't. Guess why, stupid author wouldn't update her story : (

Second: Okay, so this chapter's the last chance to get an exclusive chance to peek into Vivian's past. Any reviews for this chapter will get the special chap. Last chance.

Third: The reviews have been piling up! I had to count a LOT to be able to come up with this list. I love you guys.

The following reviewers are going to get a link to the special chapter from me (This doesn't include anybody who already got it or users who didn't log in) :

Argh Means Love, Crystal93, princessofthenight17, noneofyourbusiness09, Mikeo, Deftex, Esdesesama, Dead necromancer, Assassin2107, AcidInfinity, ElephantsRuleTheWorld, huntergo123

Last: I guess you guys already noticed. But in case you haven't, don't expect any fast updates. I'm really sorry. Being a Senior is tough on everybody, though, don't you agree? But I'll try to update asap.

22

Chaos Is Awesommme!

"I'm so glad we drugged this stupid Inventor. Or else we might have to deal with his crap the whole way back," Rosamund grumbled.

Vivian nodded in agreement as the four were on their way back to the Army, with her driving Percy's car. Actually, he should be the one driving since he was the owner of the car. But seeing as he had spent a huge amount of power and must have been really tired, Vivian offered to drive. As a result, the Chaos General now sat in the front passenger's seat, asleep. Rosamund, who had no choice but to sit with Hainsworth, didn't seem too pleased about the arrangement, but she had agreed anyway.

"What is he doing?" She asked, gesturing to Percy.

"He's asleep. Keep quiet. You'll wake him up, Rosa."

"…Fine," the Ananke General sighed. "In a deep sleep like that, wonder what kind of perverted dreams he's having."

"I don't see how Percy is perverted…Rosa, what did he ever do to make you excuse him so?"

"He touched my—my breasts!"

"By accident."

"And he watched you…"

"Hm? What's that? I didn't hear you."

"Never mind," Rosamund mumbled.

Vivian looked at the boy beside her and said, "Whatever dream he's having, it's not a good dream. He's frowning."

Her friend snorted. "Big surprise. Really, how many times do either of us—or any of the Successors—come across a sweet dream in a year? Unless you forget it all, the past keeps haunting you."

Vivian exhaled sharply. "Indeed. You're right."

'Just remember, Percy, your fate isn't to be here. You belong somewhere else. A camper of Camp Half-Blood isn't what you were destined to be…I've got to go. But this isn't the last time we meet. Let us meet again soon, Son of Poseidon.'

Who would have thought that Chaos's soon was the day later?

In his dream, Percy remembered sitting in the same place where he had met the Protogenos the day before—alone, of course. He wasn't really doing anything in particular, just something nice like thinking about how he got ignored again today by his fellow campers. Oh, right, and how that shitty Russell smirked at him while putting his arm around Annabeth's shoulders. Worse, she didn't seem to mind. She just seemed…dazed, and, well, blissful.

Yes, he was thinking about all that when that guy scared the crap out of him.

"Good morning!"

"Whoa!" Then, instinctively, he grabbed Riptide and swung it at him out of surprise. Luckily, the guy managed to dodge with some crazy superpower. He did it quite easily too, as if he was avoiding a big, fat mosquito coming right at him.

Percy gaped at him, and gave an indignant "Dude!"

"Oops, did I scare you? My bad, my bad," Chaos apologized, looking totally not guilty, with that huge grin on his face. Percy scowled and put his sword away.

"How come you're here?" He asked the guy, who settled himself down next to him.

"I came to see how you're holding up. So, how's it going? Good?" The Protogenos raised his brows.

That question! Just the one question he wanted him to ask right now. He took a deep breath, then answered, "Yeah! Of course. I'm totally, perfectly fine! Why wouldn't I be?"

He wondered if his voice was a bit too high-pitched.

"Well, I don't know…Maybe the being ignored by everybody you care for part, the girlfriend fancying some other jerk part, or the father not answering your prayers part. What else? Oh, the mother bearing your future step-sibling part. Okay, which one?"

"Shut up," Percy mumbled. Those parts of his stabbed him like needles. He had been feeling down enough these past few weeks, he didn't need some not-so-strange stranger pointing out to him how much of a loser he was.

Chaos's face softened. His voice also did. "Hey, I'm sorry for that. But you know it's the truth, right? So why do you keep putting it behind?"

Percy was silent. Ever since the guy had come here, it was like he had come to do the duty of his speaking mirror. He just…reflected Percy's mind right now. The guy continued on, "You know it's not going to stop even if you endure it. Right now, you're feeling so lonely you're letting some stranger talk to you like a friend. I am the only one closest to being your friend now, am I right?"

The demigod was about to protest, but the Protogenos beat him to it. "Don't say something like 'I have friends, it's just that they're not with me right now.' Because you know your friends are not treating you like one. Alright, they still think of you as one of them. But they won't talk to you, and it feels like sometimes they don't even know you exist. That's what's on your mind right now."

Percy kept his mouth shut and glared at the guy. Everything he said was right, but he didn't need him to say it out loud. He didn't need to hear it, just thinking it was painful enough. If Percy was his usual self, he would be wary and a little freaked out right now, because it felt like the guy could read his mind and that was just…weird. And he would be wondering who this knows-it-all was. But he was too frustrated to think straight. He couldn't do anything because all this annoying guy had said was right, absolutely right. He just wanted to kick something or someone nearby—this guy, for example—to vent out his frustration. Still, he managed to hold himself.

And there was something the guy had missed, actually…

"You're scared, too, huh?"

"I said, shut up!" He shouted and got up on his feet. But Chaos's voice stopped him from going anywhere. "I won't say anything more. I just said all of it because I want you to go away from here—to take a break from all of this. That's all, honestly. Sorry if you're mad. And…really, if it's too much to bear, why stay? Go to a place where at least somebody thinks you're important, and they need you." Then he got up too, and started to walk away.

Percy tried not to, but he couldn't help it. He finally blurted out, "Why do you care? Who are you, anyway?"

He turned, and smiled. Percy didn't want to admit it, but that smile really made him feel better. Although he still didn't figure out why, but he knew the guy cared for him. Maybe because he wanted a recruit for his army or whatever so bad, but he couldn't care less. The only thing he knew was this shady guy whom he didn't know was sincere and nice to him. And for that guy, he was sort of important. And he needed that.

The guy was right. Right now, he needed to know that he was important to someone…anyone.

Chaos's smile faded, so did his body, leaving only his last sentence in the wind. "Go home, Percy."

That afternoon, Percy packed and took a taxi home. His other home in the Upper East Side. He had called his mother and given her a heads-up beforehand. So, when he got to their apartment, he was surprised to see nobody there.

Good thing he remembered where the key was, otherwise he would have to wait outside. When he stepped into his home, he noticed a few new things that he hadn't seen before he had left for Camp just a few months ago. He dropped his bags on the couch and approached the unfamiliar…baby crib.

It looked small. And cute. There was already a set of pink bed sheets and pillows in it. Also, a bunch of stuffed animals. He picked the pillow up. The pillow case read: Juliet. Evidently, it had been hand-made by his mother. Percy put it down gently, mumbling to himself, "How nice."

Walking around in the empty apartment, he found a note on the coffee table. Apparently Paul and his mom forgot they had to go to the doctor's for an ultrasound test today. The note said they didn't know how long it would take because the line was always long for this doctor, so they had left him some chicken and potatoes and some leftovers from this morning in the fridge. They also wrote…Love, Mom and Paul.

At least it was nice to know somebody still loved him.

He looked at the crib again, and muttered sadly. "I'm glad you'll know who your father is the moment you're born, Juliet."

Then, he woke up.

His eyes fluttered open and he saw the now-familiar sight of the inside of his car. Except the fact that he was sitting in the passenger's seat. He looked to his left and relaxed when he saw a sleeping Vivian.

Now that I think about it, this is the second time I've ever seen her asleep, he thought as he observed her quietly. He wondered if she was so tired she had allowed herself a little nap. The Vivian he knew didn't strike him as someone who would let her guard down and sleep in a place like this, especially when he hadn't been awake.

He noticed they were at the parking lot near the Army entrance. There was no one around, not even Rosamund or Hainsworth who were supposed to be in the back seat. He knew he should wake her up, but he didn't want to. Vivian looked so peaceful in her sleep he didn't want to disturb. And he knew she usually didn't get much sleep in a day. So he just settled to staring at her.

She is really pretty, he observed. An icy kind of beauty. Refined and graceful like a princess, I guess?

That reminded him. Vivian wasn't like a princess. She was a real princess, according to Princess Liselotte. So what was a princess doing swinging her guns around?

As if she heard his thoughts, Vivian slowly opened her eyes. She turned around and looked right at him. Percy inwardly swore. He hadn't noticed their faces were so close. And now their noses almost touched, he could feel her breaths. He retreated back into his own seat.

"You're awake, Vivian," he coughed nervously.

She sat up in her seat. "Sorry I fell asleep. Thanks for waiting."

"Ah, that's not what I meant. Just…It's me who should be thanking. You waited for me to wake up. But next time it's all right to wake me up. I wouldn't really mind." He glanced at her a little. "Thanks, though."

"You're welcome," she nodded. "Actually it's my duty to ensure your safety anyway, so it's nothing."

"Oh." So there was also that.

"Rosa took Hainsworth to the Army a while ago because it'd be troublesome if he woke up and made a fuss. So I guess he should be at the Nesoi House about now. Or maybe at Chronus's. We should hurry back. I think you might want to see the Nesoi's methods of torture. It's pretty spectacular."

Spetacular, Percy gulped. "Well…Why not?"

As usual, they pulled their hoods up and ran along the roofs to avoid people. When they finally reached the Army gate, the two jumped down and walked normally. Percy stretched and yawned, feeling comfortable.

"What kind of dream were you having?" The girl beside him asked out of the blue.

"Oh…Uh, just a flashback, really. It's, well, actually the last time I came home. That's after I had met Chaos twice," he replied honestly. "I even left before I had the chance to see my little sister."

"It must have been hard, choosing to leave," Vivian remarked.

"Incredibly hard. But I did what was best for them, so I don't regret it," Percy admitted. "What about you? You never said anything except the part where you met and stayed with Erebus for a year."

She seemed uncomfortable about the topic and gave him a laconic reply. "Unlike you who left your loved ones behind to protect them, I left because I had no one left to protect. Rather, I couldn't afford to protect anyone besides myself. I was powerless."

"So…You were a princess?" He knew he was bringing up a dangerous topic, but he really wanted to know.

"I was. Not anymore." She glanced at him. "You know, you're the first one I admitted that to. I haven't said one word of this to Rosa. So please keep quiet, okay?"

"I know, you had to tell me because Princess Liselotte told me, right?"

"That's one thing. The other was because it wasn't fair for you. I mean, I did know everything about you when we first met, and you knew almost nothing about me."

Percy chuckled. "Totally. I thought you were kind of cold, when in fact, you're really nice!" Then he added, "If we get to do another mission together, let's talk more about you rather than me, okay?"

"Is my story really that important?"

"Of course. You're, like, one of the closest friends I've got right now. I really, really need to get to know you better." When Vivian seemed to dislike the idea, Percy prompted, "Hmm, I wonder who made your making up with Rosamund possible? That guy deserves a reward!"

"Fine, Percy," she sighed. "You should put more of your efforts into your work, not this."

He grinned. "I'll note that."

Suddenly the guy on watch duty dropped down from above and greeted them, "What's up, guys? Uh, Vivian, I think Erebus needs you to call him right now. I mean, not now, but when you're back in your House. And Percy, someone from your House—your advisor or something—wanted me to tell you to come meet her at the city wall."

Vivian nodded. "I got it. Thanks." Then she turned to Percy. "Looks like something big came up. He usually waits for me until our calling time, which means this is important. I have to go. See you later, Percy."

"Yeah, see you," he called after her and turned to address the guy, "By the way, did Rosamund come by here?"

"Yeah, she came dragging—and trust me, when I say drag, I mean it—a guy along the ground. Said she was gonna head to the Nesoi House and asked where Theodora was."

"Theodora…You mean the Chronus General?"

"Theodora Hainsworth, yep," he nodded. "Why do you think she wants to know where she is?"

"That guy she brought with her is from Theodora's clan," he replied and gave him a little smile, "Hey, we've been talking for quite a while now and I haven't got to know your name."

"I'm Fred, from Phusis House. Glad to finally get the chance to talk to you, Percy."

"Me too." They shook hands. "Well, I've gotta go, you know it's a long drive from here all the way to the Outer City gate. Thanks again. Catch you later, Fred."

Percy sprinted back to where his car was parked. Really, if he or Nevada had some sort of a cellphone thing, it would have saved him the trip. So he made sure to remember to ask Chaos—or Jayden—for one when he got back from this little rendez-vous.

An hour later he was at the intersection between two sides of the planet: the Outer City Wall. He parked the car just before he reached the outpost. Okay, so he was supposed to look for a white cat that could speak and which, unfortunately, could be hiding anywhere near this wall that seemed to stretch to the length of the entire planet…Hmm, that sounded fantastic.

"I guess I could try asking the guards if they've seen a lost cat somewhere around here," he mumbled to himself.

"No need to," said a woman's voice next to him suddenly. Percy jumped, gaping at her.

In one word, she was stunning. And, well, white. She had pale, pale skin that seemed like it could glow and waist-long white straight hair. She was thin and dressed in a white gown. What was most striking about her was her eyes. They were so very, very blue. Those big electric-blue eyes that reminded him so well of…Nah, that couldn't possibly be true.

"Who are you?" The question rushed out of his mouth as soon as he realized she was with him in the car without him even noticing when.

"Seriously, Percy? You don't recognize me? Oh, so without my fur and tail you can't remember me, is that it? What about my eyes and my voice, you stupid idiot. Looks like you and I are going to have to grind your recognition skills a little bit today," she crossed her arms and glared at him. Percy was shocked. He looked her up and down, and up again. This scolding voice couldn't belong to anyone else except his bossy cat.

"Nevada? Wh-What? You—You can turn into a human, too? And—you look—"

She flipped her hair confidently and grinned. "Absolutely gorgeous? Thanks for the compliment. Now save the chitchat for later. I need you to drive to the Northwest part of the grey area."

"Grey area?"

"That's another name for Death Section. So I got this device here," she gave him a 3D sticker that looked like a person's face. On a closer look, it was actually Chaos's face on that sticker. "It guides you around. Talks a lot, mostly nonsense, but helpful. I couldn't find any quieter ones. That stupid Chaos likes to chat with these when he's on a long road trip. So I got this one from him. I take it you'd call this thing GPS on Earth?"

"Why his face?" Percy rolled his eyes.

He stared at the teeny-weeny sticker. On the sticker, Chaos was smiling broadly, his teeth showing. When the light hit the thing, Chaos's face changed into a troll face. He face-palmed.

Nevada studied his face and added, "It might not look like it but it's helpful, trust me. Now stick it on the windshield and let's get moving. Today I'll introduce you to some new stuff and discuss what you discovered during these away-missions."

The Chaos General dreadfully stuck Chaos' face on his windshield. Great, now he would see Chaos flashing that big grin at him every moment he would be driving. Just great.

'Hi, hi, hiiii! My name is Chaos Is Awesommme! as I was named by my previous master. Glad to make your acquaintance, master! Would you like to name me?'

Suddenly the thing just burst into life and started talking in an annoyingly cheery way. Worse, it sounded exactly like Chaos. Percy wanted to die.

"Name the thing," Nevada suggested.

'Name me, master, master, master!' Chaos Is Awesommme! kept talking and making noises.

"Uh, nah, how about we throw it away?" Percy sighed. "Hey, Nevada, you do realize that sometimes my friends ride in this car with me, right?"

"When it talks too much, just do this and that'll keep it quiet," she glared at the talking navigator and slapped it.

POW!

'Wahhhhh! Dead mode, activated.' Its eyes became crosses and the thing went absolutely quiet.

"Now when you want to use it, just say your destination. In this case, try saying Northwest region, Death Section," she instructed. Percy did as told and, surprisingly, information windows came out and floated in mid-air. The windows displayed detailed data, routes, and even a 3D model of the place.

"Wow, this is really some sci-fi stuff, cool!"

"You can tell it to change to self-drive mode when you want to rest. It can detect danger in a five-mile radius, and has defense and counterattack maneuvers. So this thing is very useful, well, if you keep swatting at it every hour. Cause the dead mode only lasts for a good hour and when it wakes up it's going to talk again."

"Wait, so why have I and Chaos been driving all this time? Why hasn't he told me about this thing?"

"Everybody in the Army has it, Percy. The only reason anybody wouldn't want to use it is because lately the agency has developed a detector that catches this thing's signals. So you can only use it in this planet unless you're absolutely sure you're in a safe place, or they're not going to catch you, or whatever reason you deem necessary to use it outside, got it?"

"Okay, sure. Thanks." Percy nodded and started driving. "So, why are we going to this Northwest part of the grey area?"

"Good question. I assume that as a demigod, you've killed countless monsters. Tell me, have you ever tamed one?"

He frowned. "Well, I'm on good terms with Mrs. O'Leary. She's a hellhound, but…No, I didn't tame her. Daedalus did. So, nope, I've never tamed a monster. Why? You're going to teach me how?"

"Exactly. It's time to get you a summon pet or two."

To be continued

KimJoysu's Notes: Hey, guys. You know what, I don't even bother counting the months I've made you guys wait anymore, it makes me feel really bad. On the bright side, this one was a long chapter! Oh, I didn't really proofread it, again. I just skimmed though it, so excuse me if there are mistakes. So I'm a Senior now, wee. You guys know how busy that is. And to top it off I just came back from a year abroad. And guess what? I remember a few chapters ago I told you I haven't read HOO yet. Well, I still haven't read it now either! See how busy I am?

Also, note to some reviewers. I know you guys want me to update faster, and believe me, I try. My eyesight has been getting worse too because I spend so much time writing fanfics. And just to make it clear, the only thing that keeps me going are your reviews. The nice ones, at least. You see, when someone asks you nicely to do something, you'd want to do it for them. (Especially the loyal readers) But when someone orders or threatens you to do something, you wouldn't want to do it, right? I don't want to complain too much because I know that hanging feeling you get when you're eagerly waiting for something. But, you know, at least can you not do something like threatening me to update? That is not nice. Yes, I was a little…unsatisfied. But it doesn't mean I completely don't understand. It's fine. You can be like, goddammit update already xxxx (input bad word here). That's fine. I don't mind. I'd take it in a friendly way. But saying words like, hey, if you don't update I'll do this and that so you'd better update in, say, one week? Three days? I mean, if you were in my shoes, would you want to update? That's an order. It's a threat. And, like Percy, I don't like to be ordered around. Who does, really. So please stop doing that. You already see it had no effect on my updating routine. I update because I want to. I update because of you guys. I update when I have time. I do not update because I'm scared you'll post my work somewhere else.

Oh, and by the way. I don't care if my work gets copied. I got inspired by the Chaos fanfics anyway. I think you guys already noticed I'm not the first to write Chaos stories. More importantly, I know I have you guys who like my story the way it is. That is enough for me. If you want to post this somewhere, go ahead. See if I care. I'm happy the way it is now. Thank you very much.

I'm sorry I used this space to vent. I didn't want to make it big, like post a whole chapter just to complain. I feel like the good readers don't deserve that. But it was really bothering me so I had to say something. So…yeah. Next time this happens I'll just ignore it for real. Let this be the first and last time I address this issue : ). The issues we'll always discuss is how long I take to update, right? Lol.

Oops, almost forgot. Like it? Hate it? Please R&R! I love you guys. Thanks for being such lovely readers.