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

Chapter 21

[A/N: Dedicated to dark_shadows__ for answering within five minutes of when I posted the chapter. The answer is stars. And thank you to everyone for reading my story! It now has over 100,000 reads!]  

Nico's POV

"Okay, what are we supposed to do?" Leo asked.

We all automatically looked to Chiron, who was sitting in his normal position at the head of the table. As soon as Erebus had left, he called for a meeting here in Bunker Nine to plan our next move, which so far has gone absolutely nowhere.

Chiron sighed, looking at us with his eyes that seem to have seen just about everything. "I think the only option we have available to us is to continue preparing the campers for war. We've done all we could to gain the aid of the Romans, and we have no leads as to where Omicron could be, so I don't see anything further we can do about either issue."

We all looked at each other, realizing that he was completely right and that we'd just have to wait and see what happens.

"We need to be on constant high alert, with patrols along the border of camp at all times. Jason, can you set that up? We already have a few campers out there, but we need far more, covering every inch of the border," Annabeth spoke up.

Jason nodded. "Of course."

"Are the soldiers of Chaos willing to help train the campers?" she continued.

Bianca was sitting in for Luke, who was still in the infirmary, and she nodded. "Definitely. I think a lot of the soldiers would enjoy that, actually."

"Okay," I interrupted. "That's about all we can do to prepare the campers, so why don't we talk about what everyone's really wondering? Who's the commander Erebus was bragging about?"

Everyone turned to my sister, who just shook her head. "I'm not sure. Void's been under the radar for a long time. He could've been up to anything. All I know is that Omicron used to be his commander, then called Theta, but we never found out who the replacement was."

"It has to be someone we're familiar with," I added. "He wouldn't be so smug if it was just some random person no one has ever heard of."

"Nico, I'm afraid there's no way we can find out who it is. Again, we'll just have to wait and see," Chiron interrupted.

"We can't just do nothing! They have so many surprises and they're going to use them all against us," I argued.

Bianca put her hand on my arm. "Nico, there's nothing we can do."

I sighed in frustration, and noticed a few others looked uncomfortable with our lack of action as well, especially a certain huntress. I met Thalia's eyes across the table and asked her a silent question, to which she quickly nodded.

Chiron looked around at our dejected faces and sighed. "I'm sorry that there is no more we can do, I truly am. At the moment, we can only prepare. May the gods be with you."

Everyone filed out, silently thinking over what had been discussed. As they made their way back out of the forest, I turned toward Zeus's Fist instead, knowing she would be right behind me.

I turned around when I finally saw the pile of boulders looming in front of me.

"So," Thalia started, coming toward me. "What exactly do you have planned?"

"I can't just sit here and do nothing. Do you want to go on a patrol with me?" I asked.

She looked at me suspiciously. "Come on. There has to be more than that."

I smirked. "Well, we might accidentally end up going a bit beyond the border."

She smiled in return. "When do we start?"

Percy's POV

I didn't know what was happening. I wasn't even sure of who I was. I fell through the darkness, consumed by the power that pulsed through the black, swirling mass. It blocked out all other thoughts or feelings. A small part of me wanted to struggle, to resist, but I couldn't.

Tendrils of dark energy stretched toward me, covering my body in an indestructible armor as black as night with a ceremonial cape. Lastly, it coated my head. It paused, swirling around me, and then struck my forehead. My head flew back in a silent scream as the indescribable pain spread through me.

Slowly, it subsided, flowing out of me and leaving behind a strange sense of peace. A dark helmet formed, along with a sword. The helmet was solid metal, with some strange designs etched on the outside, but somehow the front was transparent from the inside. It was like a one-way mirror.

I was shocked when I looked down and saw the sword. It had a silver hilt and a black grip, but the blade was the strange part. It looked like it was formed from pure crystal and was as easy to see through as glass. There were black and silver designs running up and down it, from tip to hilt. It looked incredibly beautiful for something so deadly.

Finally, the dark power around me disappeared completely, showing me that I was in a room made from a black material with silver trim. "The Void," I whispered.

"Yes, the Void," a voice said from the corner.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and turned to see who had spoken. The figure was hard to make out at first, and I realized it was because he looked a lot like the wall behind him.

I dropped into a quick, stiff bow. "My lord Void."

He smiled at how I addressed him. "Do you remember who you are? You were in a terrible accident. I wasn't sure you'd recover."

"Yes, I remember," I replied, inclining my head slightly. "Thank you for your help and concern."

He turned quickly and motioned slightly toward the door. Another dark figure entered that I knew instantly.

I bowed again. "Erebus."

He stood there impassively, and Void turned to me again. "I need to make sure you're capable of filling your former position again. State your loyalty to both of us and you will be reinstated."

"Of course, Lord Void. I am and always have been loyal to both of you, and I will follow any order you give me without question, until the day I die."

Void looked pleased at that, and even Erebus looked somewhat gratified. "Very well. Welcome back, Theta, Commander of my army!"

[A/N: When Annabeth and Percy are dancing together on Olympus at the end of The Titan's Curse, how did Percy describe the song that was playing?]