Omicron, Chaos's Commander (A Percy Jackson Fan Fiction)

Chapter 13

[A/N: Dedicated to JayLgirl for getting the question right first. What Percy said to Charon was "No, I'm dead." Thanks for all the comments, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!]

Nico's POV

We were all sitting around a table in Bunker Nine, since Omicron had destroyed our normal meeting place, thinking about how many people we had just lost. No one now was used to being in a war, only the immortal campers, since the last war had been the Giant War. We hadn't been in a hopeless position like we had been in then for so long, no one remembered what it was like to be on the losing side anymore. We had all felt safe...

I looked up at the head of the table, where Chiron stood, and his eyes were so devoid of hope, I realized just how desperate our position was. We wouldn't last another week at this rate.

"Okay, I think we all agree that we need help, right?" Lambda's voice came from the corner of the room, where he was leaning against the wall. He started off tentatively, like he had some disagreeable news and he wasn't sure how it was going to go over.

"Yes, I believe that can be easily agreed," Chiron answered, looking slightly relieved that someone else would be saying the hard truths this meeting.

"Well, I have an idea, I'm just not sure it will work. But I don't think we exactly have any other options..." Lambda trailed off awkwardly, clearly not enjoying his idea at all.

I sighed. "Just tell us already. It can't get much worse than this."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. The only other allies I can think of are...the Romans."

We just sat there staring at him, stunned. He couldn't possibly mean working with the Romans again. Last time we had tried that, both of our camps had almost been completely destroyed.

Finally, someone spoke up. "You're not serious, are you? Do you understand how many people we lost because of them?"

He shrugged. "Do you see any other way out of this? Plus, if two enemies have a common enemy, they can easily become allies."

"Yeah, that's what we said last time..." I muttered under my breath.

"I agree, it seems to be our only option," Chiron said gravely.

No one said anything against it, which just proved how dire our situation was, since we agreed with a plan so suicidal so easily.

"Great, we're sending a small group first, right?" I asked.

"Of course. A quest of sorts, though with the oracle being blocked by Void, it hardly qualifies, but it must be done. The rest of us will barricade our position here and hold out for as long as we can. With the Omega Division helping out, we can do it. We must," Chiron said.

"And we will. Gather some campers to go and I'll get a few soldiers. The quest will leave tomorrow morning. Meet at the hill."

And with that, Lambda was gone, leaving silence in his wake. None of us realized how good of a leader he could be since Omicron had always been in charge. Now that I think about it, Lambda seems pretty familiar, too...

Chiron cleared his throat. "Who would like to go on this quest? We haven't had a quest issued in so long, it should be all immortal campers, so it is up to you."

"I'll go," I said immediately. "I've known about their existence the longest."

"If Death Breath's going, count me in too." Thalia smirked, daring me to comment on hearing my nickname...again. This time, I just smiled evilly back, planning how I could get her back for that one later.

I looked back at Chiron. "Now we just need someone smart who can keep us from killing each other. Do you think Annabeth would want to come?"

"You'll have to talk to her, but the three of you would be perfect for this. If she doesn't want to go, let me know, but until then, you're all dismissed. And may the gods be with you."

Percy's POV

"Annabeth. Come on, wake up."

When I had finally regained consciousness in the infirmary, I had found Annabeth asleep in the chair next to my bed, her head resting on the edge of the cot. I had smiled and immediately slipped up, using my normal voice and saying what I used to always use to wake her up all those years ago.

She shifted in her sleep, smiling slightly and whispering a word. I froze as soon as I heard it. "Percy..."

What could I do to convince her it's not me? "Ms. Chase?" Yeah...the more formal it is, the better.

"What...?" She yawned, blinking her eyes as she stared blearily up at me. A look of recognition crossed her face, and she straightened up quickly, brushing her hair out of her face and looking down, embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry, Commander Omicron. I didn't mean to fall asleep..."

"It's fine. Thank you for staying with me. What's going on, anyway? Normally, my team would be verbally attacking me at this point for doing something so stupid."

Annabeth smiled a little at that. "They're probably at the meeting. Apparently, we're going to the Romans for help. I am not looking forward to that."

"I can imagine," I muttered to myself, thinking back on everything Chaos had told us had happened.

"Hey Annabeth, Omicron," Nico said, stepping over to my bed. "Annabeth, I'm supposed to ask you if you want to go on the quest to Camp Jupiter. Out of the campers, it's just Thalia and I so far. We need one more."

She looked slightly worried about being asked to go talk to the Romans without a death wish, but she quickly made her face emotionless. "Of course I will, Nico. I'll be ready in the morning."

He nodded and walked away to tell Chiron, and Annabeth turned back to me. She looked down and said, "I'm glad you're alright, Omicron. You should really avoid over exerting yourself from now on."

I smiled at that. Same old Annabeth. "I will." On an impulse, I quickly grabbed her hand as she was standing up and just held on to it, reveling in how perfectly her hand still fit in mine. She looked shocked at first, but then her cheeks slowly turned a light pink. It took me a moment to realize I was still tightly holding her hand. I quickly dropped it and simply said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I assume you'll make sure you're on this quest, if you can even call it that?"

"Of course. I'll see you in the morning."

"See you then." She smiled at me, then turned and walked away, leaving me wondering what would happen if I revealed my identity to one more person...

[A/N: Question is: what did Percy do in The Lightning Thief that convinced the guard at the desk in the Empire State Building to let him up to Olympus?]