Hello everybody, and welcome to the third chapter of Chaos' Knights! Yahoo!

Thanks for the reviews that you guys have left. They're all really positive, and I'm elated to see you guys clamoring over this young story!

SQUIGGLY! ~

Sorry for the random outburst, I tend to have those when I'm really excited, and the squiggly is my favorite letter, so…

At any rate, I don't have anything else to say, other than if you haven't seen it, go back to the end of the last chapter and read the list of aliases for each main Knight so far. Only a select few will be called by aliases, and the list is incomplete. It won't be complete until the others are formerly introduced.

And as a random side note, for those who listen to Linkin Park and play Assassin's Creed, when you see the video for "The Catalyst," don't you automatically think of Ezio and Altair? I, for one, thought that it was the theme song for the Brotherhood trailer when I first heard it.

That's all of my random comments out of the way, so read, enjoy, and review the third chapter of Chaos' Knights!

The battle was over, the people were free, and the Knights were worldwide heroes. Zeppu, along with every other Krapl in Zenodia, had been killed off. When word got out of the death of the tyrant at the hands of the Knights of Chaos, the people threw a citywide parade and party in honor of the Knights. Everybody was stoked that the tyranny had come to a close.

And yet, Percy knew that he was overstaying the visit. The people pleaded and begged for them to stay, but they had to go. Chaos had more missions for them, and if they didn't take them, then who would? The Sixth Division was good, and the Chaos Troopers better, but the Knights were the best, and as there were only forty of them- seventeen of whom were on one planet- there would be a serious backlog of missions.

The people were helpless, however. The Knights were forced to stay behind and help them set up a government. Hazel had given said government a large starting fund. They then had to oversee that the slaves were freed; all Krapls were gone from Zenodia; the continued protection of the newly independent village; and the demolition and reconstruction of the government buildings, as well as the addition of a hospital, two schools, a post office, a zoo, an aquarium, a bar, and the many more basics of a city.

Finally, two weeks after the downfall of the Krapl tyranny, the Knights wormed their way off the planet. They had told Percy's, Jason's, Nico's, Hazel's, Frank's, Leo's, Piper's, and Tristan's Chaos Troopers legions to stay behind and finish overseeing the construction of Zenodia. Once that was done, they were to spread out around the tiny planet and hunt down and kill every Krapl they could find, thereby erasing the stain of these vile creatures forever. The other legions were to join with a few sections of the Third Division and a section of the Sixth Division and overrun the Krapl's home planet, keeping their vile ways away from any other planet.

This is where we found the seventeen Chaos Knights, waving from behind the windows of their ship at the people and the Chaos Troopers. Percy allowed himself a small smile as he spotted that young girl who'd been dragged away standing with her mother and staring at him with awe etched into her features.

The great black ship rose up, hovered for a moment, and then turned and flew into space.

Now, one may wonder why all seventeen Chaos Knights would be riding on the same ship when they all arrived in different ones. Well, the answer to that would be in two parts. The first and simpler part was just that they hadn't had the time to sit together and talk like this in a while, and as it would be about a day and a half's journey from the Curran system (where their mission took place) to the Chaos system (where the home planet and HQ of the Chaotic Empire, Bedlam, resided), they had some spare free time to talk to each other.

That left the question of what happened to the other sixteen fleets of ships that had arrived. As Percy's was the biggest (being Grand Master and Commander), his had the most technology as well. Along with the standard navigational system and robot that kept the course of the ship, he had a really powerful tractor beam. The other sixteen ships floated along in a line behind them. That was also combined with the fact that the robots were on the same course as they were and would follow them, even if there were no one on the ship.

The seventeen settled down for a nice hearty breakfast prepared by the chefs (who were also robots). The air smelt of eggs, bacon, sausages, breakfast rolls, orange juice, and just about every other breakfast food and drink as the Knights discussed their recent adventures, funny stories they had heard, and generally talked like friends who hadn't met in months.

Finally, towards the end of the meal, Percy, sitting at the head of the table, cleared his throat and stood, his glass of orange juice in his hands.

"I make this toast to the Knights of Chaos, who have been roaming the universe for centuries, restoring peace and order to those where such does not exist. We, the Knights, stand for everything that is right! To our Lord Chaos, Creator of the Universe, we salute you! Hail Chaos!"

"Hail Chaos!" the others repeated. There were many clinking sounds as the glasses were bumped. The Knights downed their final drinks all at the same time and headed off in different directions, each to explore the infinite possibilities on Altair's ship.

Fred, George, Harry, and Tristan all went off to the arena for a two-on-two battle between Fred and Tristan and Harry and George.

Edwin went off to his room, iPod touch in his hand and headphones in his ears.

Jack and Dominique went off towards the back of the ship, where the common areas were.

Calypso and Nico disappeared to their rooms, as did Leo and Hylla, Jason and Piper, and Frank and Hazel.

Percy looked round for Reyna, but he didn't see her anywhere nearby. Positive that he hadn't seen her go off, he scanned the area for water, and found a large concentration of it in the furthest corner from him. He looked directly at where she should have been standing, but there was nothing.

He knew already that Reyna was simply invisible- a feature included in all Knights armor, along with a voice displacer (so nobody recognizes it), an emergency oxygen supply (deployed when one is in danger of suffocation), and the trusty hood that covered the face leading up to the mouth. He did not know, however, the motives upon which Reyna was acting to make her go invisible, though he was positive it involved him in either a neutral or good way. He trusted her unlike he trusted his closest male friends- Jason, Nico, Frank, and Leo- because he knew there would never be animosity between them. There had been arguments between Jason and Percy at the beginning, followed by Nico and Jason, Frank and Leo, Frank and Nico, Nico and Leo, and finally a full-blown argument between all of them. He and Reyna had disagreed in the past, but they had never experienced an argument.

As an incentive to believe her, he was sure that after witnessing that little scene he wasn't supposed to that she would never hurt him intentionally.

'Unlike some people…' Percy scowled as he remembered Annabeth's betrayal of him-the reason he wasn't ready to open himself up to another girl yet. He'd poured heart and soul into that relationship, only to watch it burn in flames as she and his egotistic half-brother made out. That had really hurt, and as such he had become unwilling to commit to another girl. Even though it might've lessened the pain, the fact that it happened before led Percy to believe that it could happen again, and he wasn't up for heartbreaks.

Reyna, though…she was different. On the outside, she was Reyna, daughter of the war goddess, fierce demigoddess, Knight of Chaos, leader of a legion of troops, and a respected figure in the Chaotic Empire. On the inside, however, when Percy had gotten to know her better, was a soft, caring girl. Even deeper down, however, is where Percy really had a shocker.

She, too, had felt the pain of heartbreak.

He hadn't known of Reyna's previous feelings for Jason. Ok, he had his suspicions, but he couldn't prove whether or not that was just a friend of a very long time talking or something she wanted to be more. After the Second Giants War, Jason had to choose between Reyna and Piper.

Seeing as how Jason and Piper were now in a secluded area of the ship, and Reyna wasn't with him, one could deduce whom he had chosen.

That had broken her spirit, and it showed in her status as praetor. During senate meetings, she lost the power she held over Octavian, and camp views started swinging into his direction. Outside of the meetings, she no longer controlled the campers the same way. She had been spotted crying a few times. Finally, Octavian and another camper became praetors. Seeing how they were going to drive her home into the ground, and that she wasn't welcome in the first place, she had packed her stuff, said goodbye to Camp Jupiter, and made for Camp Half-Blood, where she had believed that Percy and her friends would be. Perhaps they would take her in, make her feel better.

In Denver, however, she came across none other than the Lord of the Wild, Grover Underwood. Well, they hadn't exactly met face-to-face, but she'd been contacted via Iris-message. Apparently, someone- Octavian, most likely- had been blocking the messages before.

Grover had explained to her quickly about the disappearances of the seven half-bloods. Her world had come crashing down at the statements. Her only remaining friends had left for an unknown destination. She would not go to Camp Half-Blood, but she would not return to Camp Jupiter. She did the natural thing (for a demigod with no home, that is) and fled the country.

She found a safe haven in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, for a few years. Japan had never truly embraced neither the Greek nor Roman Mythology, so the spheres of influence in the country were very weak. There were next to no monsters to kill her, and no gods, demigods, or mythical creatures to disturb her. This had only lasted for a few years, though, as she'd been found and attacked about five years after she left Camp Jupiter.

She'd fled again, and was on her way into Scotland when Chaos stopped her. He'd explained everything to her. With this opportunity, she'd be able to hopefully start a new life. She'd forget about everything between Jason, Piper, and her, her old life, and start anew. It was even possible that she would come across her friends again.

She'd joined up and received her training from Jack, a Knight that had more experience then Percy and friends. She'd trained for the next one hundred years, moving about, learning how to become an assassin and a warrior, and honing her skills. She'd been deemed to become a Beginner Knight by Chaos, and had been assigned to a new Knight, who would keep an eye on her.

The Knight was Jason Grace, the boy she'd managed to forget about in the century since they'd last seen one another.

She'd seen him alone, and they had a little reunion, and she'd even become hopeful that the Cherokee beauty that went out with him was gone from his life and that she could come in once more, but then she was there, and her previous pain returned full force. It had been too much. As a daughter of the war goddess, she had always been prepared for physical pain, but when emotional damage occurred, they retreated into themselves.

That was exactly what Reyna had done. She'd put up the image that she didn't care about romance or things like that anymore, but secretly, she wished she'd find the man for her. She'd honestly believed that it was Jason, but now she was unsure.

Then, after ascending to Knight status two hundred years ago, she'd met the Grand Master, who turned out to be none other than Percy Jackson. They'd laughed and hugged and talked and caught up, and during that time she hadn't even thought of how before it used to be Jason and her in these situations.

They'd undergone several joint missions together, each of which brought them closer to each other. Reyna found out that Percy was single after what Annabeth had done to him, and that he'd experienced the same thing she had. She'd told him about her history, and that special bond between them brought them even closer than before.

One hundred years ago, she'd seen something that really inspired her love for him. They'd been on a very dangerous mission together in a war-torn city. During the fight that inevitably followed the Knights of Chaos wherever they appeared, Reyna had been slashing down opponents left and right when she felt a presence behind her. She turned to find an enemy bearing down upon her with a sword, ready to slice her in half. Percy leapt in the way, saved her life, and then defeated the rest of the assailants. To this day, she remembered how scared she'd been when she'd saw Percy leap in the attack's way and take it for her. That type of bravery won over the heart she denied she had, though Percy knew this not.

Fifty years later, Percy saw Reyna in a newer light as well. The same planet that they'd saved before had fallen back into warfare, and the duo were sent again to quell the civil war brewing. In the midst of another battle between the two opposing sides, Percy, Reyna, and their Chaos Troopers had intervened to drive both sides away from each other in an attempt to get the two to settle their differences peacefully. During the battle, however, while Percy was dueling with the leader of one side, the leader of the other threw his spear, intending to impale both Percy and the other leader at the same time. Reyna had seen this and caught the spear in midair before using it on the other leader. Percy had never told her this, but the spear was on target for his Achilles heel, and if she hadn't stopped the attack, he'd be dead. The fact that she could not only protect herself but him as well was different from most other girls interested in him, but it was so in a good way. This, naturally, was the time Percy started…noticing how beautiful Reyna was, both inside and out.

Their bond of companionship and trust was so strong that when the newcomers of the Chaotic Empire saw them together, the first thing they asked was were they married. They weren't even together, but after several hundred years, everybody could see the romantic tension between them.

Back to what his happening current day, however, he was sure that Reyna had no malicious intentions with him, but was stalking him, to be blunt. He shrugged and left for his room.

He got to his door, which read at the top: THIS IS THE ROOM OF GRAND MASTER KNIGHT AND COMMANDER OF THE CHAOTIC EMPIRE, ALTAIR. The words were black, and they were printed on gold plates. Underneath, it read the same thing in Latin and Greek. Below that was a sign that said: DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION. There was a retina scan next to the door. Percy lowered his hood just enough for the eyes to become visible, and once he did his door swung open. He purposely exaggerated entering so the door didn't close on Reyna. Once he was sure that she was in- she'd brushed against him slightly- he closed the door and turned to his living room.

Most rooms upon a spaceship under the Chaotic Empire appeared small on the outside but were magically expanded on the inside. Even then, the basic room contained only a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The captain's quarters, however, were decked out in his style. And Percy had style.

The room was mostly black, but at the top and bottom of the walls, small red flame patterns danced almost as if they were real. On the left wall, a 80' HDTV hung, along with several posters displaying epic scenes of Percy leaping from burning buildings, Nico standing in the center of skeletons that knitted themselves around him from the ground and pulled themselves from the soil, Jason standing completely still in the middle of a field as blue lightning raged all around him, shocking the nearby monsters, Leo walking out of an inferno with eerily glowing eyes at midnight, etc. To the right wall, a few extremely comfortable couches and chairs were lined up against the wall. There were a few gaming systems connected to the TV.

The kitchen, separated from the living room only by a counter jutting from the back wall, indicating the beginning of the kitchen and the end of the living, was black as well. The small cabinets were made of a fine black wood, and the handles on the door were a very fine black plastic. The floor was made of, obviously, black tiles. There was a black fridge full of food, along with a black oven and microwave.

The bathroom was not viewable from the current spot where Percy and Reyna were, but it was pretty much decked out in the same colors.

(A/N: Sorry, but can't spend all chapter talking about Percy's quarters. Just imagine your dream home, all in black, grey and red, with training rooms, arenas, and other deadly stuff.)

Percy decided to let Reyna explore a little and hopped down on his couch, turning on the TV to the Olympian Channel, where each Olympian god had his or her own show. Currently, Aphrodite was discussing something about a son of Hades finding solace with a daughter of Hecate, or something of that nature. Percy clearly wasn't interested; within a minute, he was sleeping. Then, he was dreaming.

Dream

Percy was alone, drifting through space calmly. Nearby, three stars the size of Earth's Sun revolved around a tiny block of ice that Percy realized from sight as a planet. He had no idea why he was dreaming this. He remained with that quandary for about a millisecond more before a vortex opened in front of him. Chaos stepped out, looking at him rather grimly.

"Perseus." He said gravely. The addressed Knight was on bended knee, head bowed. His teeth were grinding against each other in irritation- Chaos insisted on calling him by Perseus- but he was also worried. Chaos never spoke with worry in his tone. Things must be pretty serious in order for him to sound so down.

"My Lord," Percy replied diplomatically. This time, it was Chaos who scowled. Percy and Chaos were alike in many ways. Chaos hated being called 'my lord,' though he accepted 'Lord Chaos,' 'sir,' etc.

"One of these days, Perseus, you will call me Lord Chaos instead of that dratted title…" Chaos promised. Percy grinned under his hood. Normally, nobody would be able to see it due to the invisibility feature, but Chaos saw all, knew all- he was all. Chaos smiled in return.

"Only when you call me Percy, or Altair, my Lord."

"Bah!" he said, chuckling. Chaos and Percy were very good friends. It was like Chaos had the son he'd been trying to create for all of eternity, and Percy another immortal parent that, no matter what happened, never neglected him.

The chuckles died out, and they sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching as the suns rotated frantically around the planet, moving faster and faster in a wild rhythm, as if determined to melt the planet upon which it rotated. Finally, Chaos sighed deeply, making Percy turn to him with a questioning expression evident upon his facial features.

"Percy…" he started slowly, which immediately started sounding alarm bells in Percy's mind for two reasons. Chaos never spoke slowly unless he knew he was about to make someone do something they didn't want to ever again; and he never called him Percy unless he was really angry or really sorry of what he was going to do. "Have you been keeping up with the news on Earth?"

"Only a little." Percy replied shortly, still cross with his home planet. "They're still looking for me, but I have no intention of seeing them ever again."

"Oh, but you will." Chaos said. Percy sat in stony silence, knowing what his master was implying but hoping against hope that he didn't mean it.

"My Lord?" Percy asked with a tint of anger in it. Over the last five hundred years, Percy had mastered most of his emotions. For anger to be heard in Percy's voice was a sure sign that somebody would die.

"Percy, I'm really sorry…"

"If you were that sorry, Lord Chaos, you would not force me to return to the place I once called home."

There was another silence, but unlike the last one, this one was stifling and uncomfortable. Percy was seething in rage, and was almost feeling some sort of corrosive hatred at this being who had said that he would not have to go back to Earth.

"Percy, I know that I said you wouldn't go back-"

"THEN WHY AM I?" Percy shouted, and this time his bottled up rage at Earth was released. He'd had five hundred years to get over the betrayal of his homeland, but he hadn't. Each day it had festered in his soul like some sort of ugly creature growing within the depths of his body. Now, being told to return to the planet he'd tried so hard to stay away from- even rebuking mission requests within the Milky Way in the outside chance that some deity would find him and return him- by the person he'd trusted, it reared its ugly head, finally free to do as it pleased.

The planet nearby made of ice started melting, but not because of the suns' still faster dances. It was reacting to Percy's rage, turning into a ball of water and, eventually, a cloud of steam. Whether he knew it or not, Percy was destroying a planet.

Chaos calmly waved his hand, and the planet was restored. Now not even Percy's mighty anger would affect the life of Chaos' created planet.

"Why am I?" Percy repeated much more softly.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, a silence in which Percy took gladly. He had a feeling that Chaos knew he needed a few minutes to recompose his normally indifferent attitude. Percy had turned his back on Chaos in a feeble symbol of his opposition at the task. Chaos just stood there, waiting until he felt the moment he needed to speak to Percy and composing something to say to his top-notch Knight.

"Perseus," Chaos began. "You do want to become the next Chaos, correct?"

"If you wish me to do so, then I will, sir." Truthfully, Percy wasn't sure. The idea of not being able to fight was disturbing to him. Percy was a lot of things, but warrior was the very first. To keep away from being a warrior…it didn't really fit well.

"As Chaos, one of the things you must learn is that everything that you create will not last unless you interfere to restore it. I pledged never to fight my creations' battles, this is true, but that is why I created the Chaos Empire- to help these creations of mine when they need it. Earth is a dire situation now, and I want you and the Chaos Knights to smooth it out.

"Another thing that the being of Chaos must learn is that sometimes he must do things he does not want to do in order to keep the universal balance. Perseus, you've served me for five hundred faithful years, keeping the peace as well as you could throughout the entire universe. Now Earth needs our services. If we do not go to help, anarchy will reign among us all, and that peace you spent five centuries creating will be wiped away almost instantly. Now, with that in mind, tell me Perseus. Which is more important right now? Either you go to Earth, face the people who betrayed you, and save the universe…or, you could stay here and watch as everything you strived to build and maintain burns."

Percy said nothing, but he knew that Chaos was right. His personal happiness did not matter in this situation. To serve the universe was the Chaotic Empire's goal, and Earth needed them. He would have to swallow this bitter medicine in order to reap the rewards.

Percy heaved a great sigh that even Dionysus would have envied and turned back to his master, kneeling once more. He still resented the order, but he would do it for the good of the entire universe.

"What is the status of Earth?"

Chaos turned grim once again. Percy could easily tell Chaos's moods apart, because his clothes represented his mood. As of now, they were gray and ragged, which showed how grave things were.

"Very bad. Extremely so. The gods have even broken their Ancient Laws of not interfering in mortal affairs because the entire situation is so terrible. Hades and Hestia have been inducted into the Olympian Council in a feeble attempt to increase their power for the upcoming battles. The minor gods and goddesses, the demigods, and the nature spirits have all united with the Olympians- something never done before- and yet they still don't have even a fraction of the power against which they will be fighting."

"Lord Chaos, it can't possibly be that bad!"

"Gaia has risen again, and this time she's nearly awake. The last time you and your comrades defeated her, she was not even close to full power. Now, she's freed Tarturus from Hades' control-not that he ever had full control over it- and he serves her loyally. She's resurrected the Titans and the giants. Kronos has yet to come back, and they will keep biding time-no pun intended- until he does, but he is close to it. All of the monsters have subjected themselves to Gaia, which, if you haven't noticed, is quite a lot. I made Gaia so that only when all the giants, Titans, and monsters serve her, she will fully awaken. Once Kronos comes back, she will awake, and the gods will be destroyed. There is also the possibility that they might receive outside help from other planets. And, last but most certainly not least, Typhoon was once again been disturbed from his slumber by his father, Tarturus, and has found his way to Gaia, his mother."

"So you want the Chaos Knights to back up the Olympians."

"That's correct."

"I don't understand. Gaia is your daughter. Why do you want us to fight her?"

"Though she is my child, she was a terrible ruler. Life under her did not prosper at all. That was the only time I ever entered a fight, and even then I only submitted her to a deep sleep. The event made me give up violence forever. The Titans were just as bad, and no doubt that the giants would be just as bad, if not worse. The gods are not the best rulers, but they are good enough, and things have steadily improved with the addition of Hades and Hestia to the Council. If Gaia becomes ruler once more, you can kiss goodbye to all humans on Earth, as well as the gods, demigods, and anything that opposes them."

Percy sighed again. "Will we have any other back up?"

"Alpha Sector's Second Cohort from Third Division, Beta Sector's First Cohort from the Second Division, Delta Sector's Third Cohort from First Division, the Alpha and Beta Squads from Sixth Division, and the Omega Line from Fifth Division will join you. The Fourth Division will also send a few technicians and smiths to help create weapons, armor, and everything that you'll need."

The Chaos Army was divided into five sectors. Each sector was set up the same way, with a First to Sixth Division and eight Knights of Chaos. The better a soldier you were, the higher the sector you were placed in. For example, the best soldiers and Knights (including Percy and his friends) were part of the Alpha Sector, while the second best soldiers and Knights (including Reyna, Tristan, Fred, George, and Harry) resided in the Beta Sector. The sectors always moved about the Universe to take on the jobs according to their skill level. Thus, the Alpha Sector was always in the thick of the action, while the Omega and Gamma Sectors were more of a group of unskilled soldiers trying to gain more experience and skill through smaller missions, battle simulations, and a load of training.

The first three Divisions were divided into cohorts as well. There were five cohorts to a Division. Like the sectors, the cohorts were divided by skill. Thus, Alpha Sector's Second Cohort from Third Division would be the second best group of land soldiers, while Beta Sector's First Cohort from the Second Division would be the sixth best group of naval officers (the first five cohorts from Alpha Sector besting them).

The final three were divided differently. The Fourth Division undivided. Unlike all the other Divisions, those in the Fourth Division all had the same rank and worked at the same place. The Fifth Division was divided into Lines. There was no particular order in which people were put into Lines; the only rules were that each Line could have a max of twenty spies, and once that max was reached, a new Line was created, with the spy that had the most experience leading that Line. The Sixth Division was divided into one hundred squads- made up of nine soldiers and a commanding officer- named after random things; Alpha and Beta Squads were the best.

"My Lord, forgive me for implying this, but you do realize that the amount of help you are sending is overkill?"

"No Perseus, it is not. You do not seem to realize how many monsters there are, and how powerful each Titan and giant is at full strength. You will need all of the reinforcements I'm sending you. On top of that…"

"Yes, My Lord?"

"I want you to kill Gaia."

There was a ghastly silence between the two, before Percy stood from his kneeling position, eyes widened slightly in shock.

"You want me to what?"

"I trust you to finish off Gaia. I fear that as long as she exists, Earth will never be peaceful. Destroy her using your powers, and then find a new Gaia. She will need to be replaced quickly, else the end of the world truly comes."

"How am I to find a suitable replacement? And do you honestly believe that I could defeat Gaia?"

"The person best suited for the job is currently dwelling in the Underworld. I give you the special permission of Chaos to break the Ancient Laws- not that it matters anyway, as they have been shattered to several pieces by now- and bring this person back to life. I trust you know whom I refer to. As for if you can beat Gaia…well, I know that you can beat Typhoon with minimal to no help at all, depending on your strategy. For Gaia, you will need help, but you can do most of the work."

"My Lord…do you really think me that strong?"

"You know not your own strength, Perseus. Your time on Earth will help you realize it. Hopefully, when this is all said and done, you will have full reign over your emotions. That will make you once step closer to being the Void, Chaos."

There was another silence for a few moments before Percy heaved one last great sigh. "I accept the mission."

"I apologize that this had to happen."

"If it is for the good of the universe, so be it. May I ask one last question, however?"

"Besides the one you just did, you may."

"What happens when the gods and demigods discover my identity, as I am sure that they will, what with my bad luck? What if they try to force me to stay?"

"Worry not over that particular matter, my loyal Knight, for even they know not to interfere with those that serve Chaos. As a Knight of Chaos, you are freed from their service. You do as you please, and they cannot stop you from doing so…not like they could. You could very well crush the Big Three at the same time, the rate you're going."

"You flatter me, Lord Chaos. Oh, and one last thing?"

Chaos, who had created another vortex to end the dream, stuck his head back out with a mock-annoyed expression. "What?"

"I think its time that the others are promoted."

Chaos merely grinned. "I'll see to it when I can. Now, it is time for you to wake. There is another waiting for you."

Before Percy could hope to figure out what he meant, the connection faded, and a female voice could be heard.

"Percy…Percy… Percy! Percy!" the voice persisted. He shot up, a hidden blade attached to his right arm shooting out wildly in the direction of the voice. He realized the voice, but the blade was already in motion. Luckily, the body seemed to have evaded the attack, if the draft of air that he slashed through was any indication. He blinked once, twice, thrice, before the sleep finally cleared from his eyes. His eyes widened when he saw Reyna standing a few feet away, cursing in Latin as she examined the cut through her robes he had made by extending the blade ever so slightly with water vapor.

"Oh Zeus! I am so sorry Reyna!" Percy said, hopping out of his bed towards her. She looked up, giving him a beautiful and dazzling smile, even though it was a little forced.

"That's alright Percy. It's become a natural habit by now."

See, there was another quality Reyna had that the others simply didn't. Even after 500 years of hanging around with Percy, the others were still caught off guard with things he did, even if he had done them thousands of times. Reyna, however, came to recognize and accept his habits. The others took longer recognizing it and sometimes refused to accept it, such as the habit of extending his hidden blade when awakened. The fact that Reyna came to accept all of Percy's habits and quirks was a welcome change in his life.

"I'm glad you've accepted it." Percy replied. "Now, what can I do for you, little Miss 'I-Think-I'm-So-Clever-By-Going-Invisible-And-Sneaking-Into-Percy's-Room'? Or are you here just to awaken me every time I fall asleep?"

Reyna tinged pink, which- in Percy's opinion- looked very cute. "You noticed? But how?"

Percy smirked; which- to be perfectly honest- melted Reyna's heart. "First, I was watching everybody leave breakfast, and when I noticed that I hadn't seen you go, I used my ability to sense water and found a human-sized mass of it following me where I went. It was pretty easy from there to determine that you were trying to sneak up on me. Second, when I opened the door, I felt you brush against me ever so slightly."

Reyna sighed. "I knew I had touched you, but I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "I wouldn't be Grand Master if I didn't notice things like that."

Reyna tinged light pink again. "Right."

Percy yawned, stretched, and laid back down on his bed before patting the space to his right. Reyna took the hint and laid next to him, leaving some space between them, which made Percy both happy and sad, if that were possible. He was happy because Reyna respected him enough to not encroach on his personal space (though he wouldn't mind if he did). He was sad, though, because he wanted even the smallest bit of contact with Reyna. When they touched, a warm feeling spread throughout his body.

"So what do you want?" Percy asked, blunt as ever. Reyna shrugged awkwardly, what with the position she was in making it a weird experience.

"Nothing in particular. I was bored and since everybody else was busy, I came to you."

"I…see. Well then… tell me about your latest mission."

"Oh, the last mission I was on was so fun! First…"

They talked for hours about the biggest and smallest of things, including recent missions, impressions of new soldiers, and even things like what foods were good and what were gross. The two laughed together, listened to each other, and gave advice when the other needed it. At one dark point during the conversation, Percy even held Reyna in his arms as she cried her heart out to him; discussing the heartbreak she felt when Jason chose Piper instead of her. The robots brought the two lunches, seeing as how engrossed in conversation they were. Even to the bots, it was clear that these two were in love.

Towards the end of the day, the two were still lying on the bed side by side, but they were a lot closer than when they started talking. In fact, the two were so close that even the slightest movement of a limb from one would graze the body part of another. Percy was seemingly oblivious to this, but Reyna noticed, sighed, and flipped on her side to look directly at Percy.

"Percy?" She whispered.

"Yeah?" He replied, looking at his glass dome ceiling. The commander's quarters were always located on the bridge of the ship, and so the commander had the option of choosing a ship with a glass dome replacement for a ceiling or a regular roof. Percy chose the glass dome because he liked to stargaze before he fell asleep. The glass must have been bewitched by the Hecate troopers or prepared and made specially for this purpose by the Fourth Division, because neither blunt force or sharp edges could pierce/break the dome, and special powers (such as Jason's control over lightning) would not damage it.

Reyna hesitated, wondering how she should go about her business, before deciding on what she deemed to be the best course of action.

"Have you ever loved somebody so much, you didn't want to tell them that you loved them because you were afraid that might destroy your friendship?"

Percy froze for a second, and Reyna assumed that he did. She was not disappointed, as a second later; Percy unfroze and answered her question without much pausing for consideration of words.

"Yes."

"What did you do about it?" She wondered, leaning in closer to Percy. The gesture appeared to Percy as if she was merely interested in the story, but Reyna was using that as an excuse to get closer to him. He exuded warmth, and the closer she was to it, the more comfortable she felt.

Percy tinged red as he felt her head come to rest on his arm. "I…haven't told her."

Reyna sat up. "Why not?"

"Because she suffered a large heartbreak, and I'm not sure if she's ready to leap back into a relationship yet. I love her and I respect her, so I'm willing to wait for her."

Percy knew that he was giving away large amounts of information on who it could be, especially considering that the person he was referring to was the very same who was listening to him speak. But he hoped that by not naming names, Reyna wouldn't figure out that he loved her.

Unfortunately (fortunately, really, but Percy was still too dense to realize this), Reyna realized that the description of this girl he was speaking of was mighty close to what she went through, and as he had said that he HASN'T told this person yet, she could assume that she was still alive. Her heart pounding in her chest, she spoke once more.

"Percy?"

"Yes?"

She rolled over and straddled his waist before leaning down and capturing his lips with hers.

The moment she did, an electric tingle formed on her lips and traveled through the rest of her body. When she felt it, she knew…

Percy was the one.

As for Percy, he was frozen for a few seconds, but in his mind, fireworks were going off. This… this was better than anything he had ever experienced with the blonde bimbo from Athena cabin. He had never felt so alive as he did now! With a hungry passion, Percy kissed back.

Their lips stayed connected for thirty seconds before they broke apart with the need for air. Both of their faces were extremely flushed and both of their chests were heaving from the need of air and from the excitement of what just occurred.

"Reyna," Percy said breathlessly. "I love you."

Reyna didn't respond with words. She just latched lips with him yet again.

Thirty minutes later, the two were cuddled up together under Percy's bed sheets. They had explored their new relationship through sucking each other's faces off, with the occasional grope. There was some sort of silent agreement that they wouldn't progress further than that. They were a new and immortal couple; they had all the time in the world to have fun, so why waste it now?

Percy sighed, making Reyna look up at him. "What's wrong, Fish Face?" She asked affectionately.

Percy raised an eyebrow. He had been called many things, but Fish Face was something he had never heard before (unless Thalia had used it once and he had forgotten). "Fish Face?"

"Problem?"

"No. I like it." Percy said warmly.

"Thanks. But you didn't answer my question."

"Well…"

"Spit it out!"

The Grand Master signed in resignation and what sounded like bottled up anger. "Chaos has ordered us back to Earth to help the Olympians."

"He didn't!" Reyna said, shooting straight up and out of Percy's arms.

"He did." Percy replied with regret clear in his tone.

"But he knows what happened to you there! Why would he send you back?"

"Because if Earth falls, everything we've worked for in the last five centuries will go to waste. I've spent too much time working towards universal peace to let it all go down the drain due to my bitterness towards that place."

"But…but… he promised!"

Percy sighed. The Romans always held promises and oaths to the letter. If Chaos had promised Percy that he wouldn't have to return to Earth, then to Reyna (and Hazel, Frank, and the other Romans in the ranks), he shouldn't have to return. But this was Chaos they were talking about. His will was basically law in their lives now.

"I know, Rey." He said. "But I've got no choice, and neither do you, or any of our friends."

Reyna stayed silent for about five minutes before sighing and lying back in his arms. "Fine. We'll do it, but we don't have to like it."

Percy smiled. "That's what I was thinking."

That's all, folks!

So, what do you guys think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Great? So bad I should jump off a cliff?

I really hope I don't write so badly you'd have to choose the last option…

So, this chapter's word count was just under eight thousand, three hundred. I hope you guys enjoy long chapters, though I am sorry about slow update speeds. School was a bitch to get through, and then I found out that my dad wants me to go through this scholarship program that's kind of useless for me now. It's supposed to give me a head start, but everything I learn there, I learn in the first month or so of school. So really, this is just an excuse for me not to be on the computer for the entire summer. I had really anticipated giving out faster updates, but it looks like I might not be able to, sorry.

What do you guys think of all the enemies conjoining to overthrow the gods? Is that overkill, or do you think it adds a nice change to the story? When I said all monsters, I really meant I would go back and bring some creatures from Greek mythology not seen in the PJO/HoO series.

To those that care, I have decided, as per your requests, to put my name on this petition. I don't know if it matters, though...

To my anonymous reviewers, as well as those that do not know what's going on with the site, the owners of this website have gone bat-shit crazy with rules and regulations all of a sudden. I know that just about everybody that writes lemons as well as stories with excessive violence have moved off the site because the owners have ignored us writers' pleas to reconsider. Not only that, but authors that have written some of your favorite "Characters Read" stories have been put on probation by the site, and most of their stories have been taken down. Apparently, it is illegal to post large quantities of the storyline like that on the site, and while Fanfiction has gotten away with it for a while, it appears that they are now enforcing that rule. So yeah, you can kiss goodbye to let's read stories, lemons, and gory scenes.

Oh, and there will be some dead people you see in the Chaos Army too. Just a heads up.

Later!

P.S: Review!