Percy Jackson: The Knight of Chaos

Training

(A/N: You guys!! SO MANY READS, it's incredible. So for this chapter, I'm dedicating it to all those who have continuously read this through, who have voted and commented, who have basically made my day with those simple actions. Thank you so much!)

I held Annabeth tightly against me, and we kissed for what seemed like eternity. Hungrily, I inhaled her scent that I had craved, and had hated myself for craving it. But, with each passing second, the memories of what she'd done tugged at the back of my head, reminding me of how I'd hated her and the rest of Camp Half-Blood. The scars on my chest flared with ghostly anger, as if enraged that I would dare kiss the girl who'd played a key role in delivering them there. The memories culminated into a large force, swirling and twirling in the back of my mind like a hurricane, until I pushed her away from me, stumbling backwards.

"Perce --?" She began.

I shook my head. "I have to go. I'm sorry. I'll -- I'll talk to you later." With that, I sprinted away. Opening my wings, I flew into the air, as if I could just fly away from all of my problems.

The dark night enveloped me, and after a few minutes of flying I found myself back at the tree I'd perched on only an hour before, though it seemed like days. I settled onto the highest bough once again, running my hands through my hair and groaning. In my head, I went over the eventful night, which had not gone at all according to plan.

Troy had been close, so close to being gone from my life. All it would have taken was a simple drop, a small slip of the hands. I didn't know why I could not do the exact same thing he'd done to me. Was I weak? Or was I the better man?

And, oh gods, was Annabeth speaking the truth? Had everyone hated me because of a spell? But then, who had placed the spell upon the camp? Did it have something to do with Troy's arrival, and the ancient force? And why did Nico, Hazel, and Jason resist the spell?

The sensation of kissing Annabeth floated into my head, but I forced it away. The whole thing was too confusing, too much for me. I wondered if, given the chance, I would go back in time and make sure I didn't kiss her. I bit my lip, almost wishing to feel the buzz of her lips on mine one more time, and knew I wouldn't change anything for the world.

-

Golden sunlight shimmered through the window by my bedside, awakening me from my restless sleep. I had finally stumbled into bed last night, not quite having resolved all of my issues but knowing little sleep was better than none, especially with training looming ahead. The Alpha Force had put themselves to work while I had spent the better part of yesterday moping on the top of the tree. They had constructed a cabin of their own, the Chaos cabin. It stood proudly in the same field as the other twelve cabins of the major Olympian gods, but was twice as tall and twice as wide as the rest. I was sure Luke had put it there as a joke, a mockery of the Olympian gods' and goddesses' so-called 'power'. We had all grown up in awe of the power our parents possessed, but our time with Lord Chaos had opened our eyes up to power beyond even Gaea's wildest dreams. Zeus's fearsome master bolt paled in comparison.

Inside the black obsidian cabin, we each had our own room, a mirror image of our own barracks in Lord Chaos's sprawling palace. That's where I sat at the edge of my bed, staring at my feet as they dangled loosely. Fifteen minutes before training started. With great effort, I heaved myself off the bed, and scoured the floor, already strewn with haphazardly discarded clothes, for my training clothes Beckendorf had designed for me and, of course, my ever-constant cloak. Sighing, I pushed the door open and stalked through the maze of corridors, until I was out the door.

I knew everyone else would be at training already. Their sleep schedules were a little -- okay, a lot -- better than mine. Within days Zoe had whipped the rest of Alpha Force (excluding me, of course) into perfect sleeping shape. I had rejected her training like the flu.

I was proved right as I entered the arena, and ducked almost instantly as a double-edged axe came swinging my way. The sharp metal reflected light off the blade, a UFO of death flying straight towards me. With a thud, the axe sank into the wooden door frame behind me like a knife melting into hot cheese. I glanced towards the general area where the axe had flew from, and grinned as I saw Hazel, cloak and all, with two palms on her face, exasperated, as a young camper stood frozen in the same position he'd thrown the axe from.

"Be careful!" I hollered, and carried the axe safely over to the camper, who jumped out of his frozen state and apologized repeatedly.

I looked around, and smiled at the great job Alpha Force had already done. The youngest, most nervous kids were in the middle with Silena, as she calmed their hyped-up nerves with soothing words and just a hint of charmspeak. Over in the corner, Beckendorf led hand-to-hand combat training. Arrows thudded into their targets against the wall as Zoe the expert honed the campers' archery. Luke led sword training, and I smirked with nostalgia as the demigods learned the same disarming technique he'd taught me years ago. Hazel used her Mist magic to make monsters appear, and Nico raised zombies from the dead, while the campers used all of their training to fight the imaginary beings. To make it even harder, Bianca's earth powers sent tremors through the ground, and half-bloods everywhere tripped and stumbled over the earth ripples. But, as I watched, demigods began to find their footing in the unstable earth, and fought with more confidence and precision.

Great job, Alpha Force, I sent to all of them.

A scream wailed across the arena, and everyone froze in their tracks. I dashed over to the archery range when I realized who was screaming.

"Luna!" I called, as she swayed back and forth, her bow dropping out of her hands.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and with one final screech, she collapsed to the ground. "Luna!" I yelled again, cradling her unconscious form in my hands. "Help! Somebody, help!"

Two sets of feet scrambled over to us, but I narrowed my eyes when they revealed themselves to be Leo and Piper. "Not you!" I snarled. "Stay away from her!"

Before they could react, a similar scream came from the other side of the arena. Heads whipped around just in time to see Luke crumple to the ground. "No, Beta!" I was desperate now. Quickly, I laid Zoe on the earth, and rose to run to Luke. However, just as quickly, Silena and Beckendorf both cried out in agony, and slumped to the ground. "Forge! Rapture!"

The only ones left standing were myself, and the children of Hades. "Terria, Magia, Necrosis! You all right?" I called to them, praying Lord Chaos they were.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Nico replied, but then instantly let out a horrendous scream, and he, too, fell to the ground unconscious. Two more screams, and I knew Bianca and Hazel were gone as well.

All of the campers stared at me, expecting me to scream and collapse. I did, too. But, as the seconds ticked by, I remained conscious, breathing heavily. Finally, I straightened up, the moment having passed. "We need to examine them, see what happened. Apollo cabin -- with me. Everyone else, you need to continue training. Do whatever you were before--" Suddenly, an intense, excruciating pain overtook me, each individual nerve setting on blazing fire. I screamed, and the agony overwhelmed me, and everything faded to black.

The last thing I felt was the feeling of falling down a deep, deep hole.