Commander Alpha

Chapter 33

(A/N: Aww, this is the second to last chapter 😢... kind of sad and also, dare I say it, kind of a relief!  Anyway, enjoy!)

Luke's POV

    Annabeth and Percy didn't come back for so long that we were beginning to get worried.  When they finally showed up, Percy looked better than I'd ever seen him.  He had his arm slung around Annabeth, and he carried a small tub of what we discovered to be his mom's famous blue cookies.

    The warriors had our customary post-war meeting, made less boring by the addition of the cookies.

    "So," Silena managed to say through the huge chunk of cookie in her mouth, "Luke, Percy, Zoё.  When are you guys going to reveal yourselves."  I made eye contact with both Percy and Zoё, who both shrugged.. 

    "We'll figure it out later." Percy announced.  Everyone nodded, and the meeting moved along.  We all knew that we were avoiding talking about a certain topic that was on the forefront of our minds.  When I'd finally had enough, I cleared my throat and stood up.

    "Okay, since no one is going to bring this up, I will.  What are we going to do about Chaos?  I know that none of us want to leave, but because some of us are back from the dead we have an obligation to serve him."  All chatter immediately hushed.  All of the warriors had torn looks on their faces, a tug of war between Camp Half-Blood and Chaos going on inside them.

    "About that," We all whipped around to see Chaos standing nonchalantly in a corner.  I could tell that he was upset by his posture and the slight lines in his face.  "You all signed a contract upon joining my army, correct?"

    "Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?" Castor said.

    "Whelp, all of your contracts end today." I did vaguely remember my contract having an oddly specific end time, but I had initially shrugged it off.  Now, I was coming to a realization.

    "You knew." I stated.  "You knew that we would have this mission back to Earth and all want to stay."  Chaos nodded.

    "You are all free to go.  And before you do, I want to say something.  You have been like children to me for these past few centuries, and have been the best army I have ever had."

    The first person to attack Chaos was Percy.  He gripped the creator of the universe in a bear hug that was returned with the same vigour.  Almost all at once, the rest of the warriors joined in on the hug, turning it into one of the most powerful, emotionally charged group hugs of all time.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  After quite some time, the hug began to wind down.

    "I'll still be dropping by occasionally to check on you guys, and yes, you'll keep the powers and partial immortality you got from me." After many more hugs and thank you's, warriors began trickling from the room, eager to tell their friends and loved ones that they would be staying.  Finally, it was only Percy, Chaos, and I left in the room.  I hugged Chaos.

    "Thank you so much for giving me a second chance." I told him.  I was about to leave the room when Chaos called out.

    "Hey Luke, don't leave quite yet.  Percy, you need to go see a certain someone on Olympus." Percy's face drained of color.

    "Poseidon."

    "That's the one." Chaos turned, shifting his attention to me.  "Luke, I figured you could go with Percy as, ah, emotional support.  You know, just in case things get explosive."

    "I don't think that should be a problem." Percy said.  I looked over at him questioningly.

    "The whole exploding thing.  I haven't felt anything of the sort after the whole Tartarus incident.  But I still want you there, Luke." I nodded.  Chaos smiled at us.