Chapter 3: Who's Percy Jackson - Annabeth's POV
Epsilon dragged us through the portal and I lost sense of all direction and time. The midnight door that we had gone through seemed to go in and out of several other dimensions. The journey seemed to take an eternity yet also only a second.
And the whole time, Epsilons's hand on my arm felt stiff and rigid. His grip, though, was soft and strong from years of sword-fighting. His hand was warm and it made me feel relaxed. I hadn't felt a grip like that since ... Percy.
Stop it, I chided myself, you'll only cause yourself grief.
We walked out of the portal and came out on top of Half-Blood Hill. I wondered how Epsilon knew the right place to open a portal. Then I remember that Epsilon said he was a demigod, and I thought, who is this guy?
There was something about him that made me trust him completely. He took leadership like it was woven into his very nature and he was kind to everyone.
Epsilon's grip on my arm vanished and I turned my head to look at him. He was staring wistfully out across the strawberry fields. The odd collection of cabins at the bottom of the hill stood out and in the distance, the Big House was clearly visible; big and bright blue.
Epsilon sighed, 'It's been so long.'
I don't think he meant for me to overhear but I did.
'How long has it been since you were here?' I asked.
He inclined his head as if considering.
'I haven't set foot on Earth for 10 000 years,' he admitted.
'Oh.' Brilliant, I know. But what do you say to a comment like that?
He led me over to where his group stood, waiting for their leader. I thought about how Chiron would feel if we let an entire army march through camp and decided that Epsilon should talk to him.
'Epsilon,' I started.
He stiffened like I'd shot him in the back, 'Yes?'
I suddenly felt like an intruder on his privacy, 'I thought you should see Chiron to tell him whats going on. He's-'
'I know who he is,' Epsilon turned back to his troops. 'Iroas, come with me. Drakon, lead the others to the cabins. You know the way. Wait for us there.'
One of the group replied, 'Yes, commander.' So I guessed they must be Drakon. Though they sounded like a girl and I felt a rush of familiarity.
Drakon started walking straight towards the cabins. The other cloaked figures followed her lead. Only Iroas stayed behind
The other five demigods looked to me for instructions while Iroas looked to Epsilon. I exchanged a glance with the commander, or as much as I could without seeing his face. Once again, he took the leadership without complaint.
'Iroas is my second in command,' he told us. 'He will attend to me while we speak with Chiron.'
And with that, he started off towards the Big House. I glanced at the others who shrugged their shoulders. With a sigh, we took off after Iroas and Epsilon.
Percy's POV
With the other demigods left to catch up, I had a few seconds alone with Luke to discuss this turn of events.
'I wish Chaos had told us the demigods of the prophecy were going to be there,' I told him through gritted teeth.
'Maybe he didn't know,' Luke reasoned. 'Maybe he thought it wouldn't matter.'
Wouldn't matter? Oh hell yeah, it mattered.
'Do you think any of them suspect us?' I asked him, lowering my voice as the others neared.
He shook his head, 'I don't think so. And besides, I'm not sure if I plan on revealing myself or not. I have a feeling that some of the others wont take to me very well.'
I laughed quietly, but stopped abruptly when the other demigods caught up.
'Everything OK?' Annabeth looked back and forth between us. I was very glad that my face was hidden, I didn't want her seeing my expression.
'Yes,' I replied curtly. 'Come on.'
The six demigods, Luke and myself continued to the Big House in silence. When we got there, a centaur stood on the porch, ready to greet us.
Luke and I went up the steps first. When I reached the porch, Chiron's tail flicked anxiously.
I bowed to him, 'Master Chiron.'
Another thing I'd learnt with Chaos; people are more likely to be nice to you if you show them some respect.
The centaur face was a mask of calm but I could tell he was nervous as his horse-half skittered uneasily. Nevertheless, he bowed his head to me.
'Welcome to Camp-Half Blood, young one.'
I almost laughed. Young one. If only. However, I contained my amusement.
'Thank you,' I smiled, then I remembered that he couldn't see my face. 'I am Commander Epsilon of Lord Chaos' army. This is Iroas,' I gestured to Luke who nodded respectively, 'and I have been sent by my Lord to help you in the upcoming war against Destruction.'
Chiron appeared to be momentarily speechless, and I realized that he didn't hear any of what was said on Olympus. Annabeth seemed to realize, too, as she started relaying the events that occurred in the throne room.
Luke and I, having been trained by Chaos himself, stood to attention the whole time. The other five demigods waited awkwardly to the side, shuffling their feet with indecision.
I took the time to look at them all properly. Frank, Hazel, Jason and Piper hadn't changed much. I wondered how, especially seeing as this was ten years later. They should all be in their late 20's. Luke seemed to be thinking similar thoughts. I considered the best was to ask them.
'How old are you?' I asked Jason.
He looked at me, frowning. I guess you don't really see to many people from other planets, and when you do, they wouldn't really ask you your age.
'Well,' he started. 'Technically I'm still sixteen. When our friend Percy-' he faltered for a second. 'Percy Jackson disappeared, the gods granted us all immortality so we could look for him.'
I nodded, then noticed that Nico looked older than when I'd last seen him.
'What about you?' I fixed my eyes on Nico.
'I asked the gods if I could wait until I was a bit older,' he replied. 'I didn't want to be stuck as a 13 year old forever.'
I snorted. 'Don't blame you.'
He grinned at me, but the smile soon slid off his face.
'Sorry,' he said sadly, looking at the ground. 'You just remind me of our friend Percy.'
'Did you look for him long?'
'Hell yeah,' Nico yelled defiantly. 'He's our friend.'
'What about her?' I gestured at Annabeth. 'Did she look?'
Frank nodded, 'Better believe it. She was always the first one up when we were going on a "Percy Hunt." She believed it was her fault that he was gone. Everyone thought that he'd left Camp and met a monster he couldn't beat.'
'But it couldn't have been that,' Hazel put in. 'Nico and I couldn't find his spirit in the Underworld. We sill can't, which means he's still out there. Annabeth is driving herself crazy. She knows he's alive, but she can't find him. She wont give up, though.'
'Its worse than when he disappeared for like half a year,' Piper interrupted. 'At least then Annabeth knew vaugely where he was and that she could get him back.'
'I'm worried that she'll do something rash,' Jason mumbled.
I opened my mouth to contribute when Luke tapped me on the shoulder. Chiron and Annabeth had finished talking and the look on her face said that she'd heard at least half of their conversation. Her eyes were red, but it looked like she'd managed to hold her tears back.
'Well,' Chiron said. 'I'm afraid we don't have a cabin to acomodate the lot of you-'
'If you could give us a small space, Master Chiron,' I chipped in. 'We'll be fine.'
The centaur looked taken aback. But he replied, 'There is a spot to the left of the cabins that you can use, if you wish.'
Luke and I bowed then left the Big House to meet up with the rest of our squad.