The lost hero returns

23. There he is

I look at them. My mind racing.

"Where?" I ask.

"They are in the woods heading for Thalia's tree." The soldier says. "About two thousand monsters and warriors. No sign of Nyx" He reports.

I nod. "Thank you." I say. He nods and salutes.

I turn around and face my soldiers who are eating at four very long tables.

"Attention soldiers!" I say. It turns quiet.
"The enemy is approaching. Get to your positions. Now!" I order. They immediately salute and depart.

I turn to the campers.

"The army of Nyx is heading for Thalia's tree. I don't think she will attack now. But I think you should start with setting the traps, putting on armor and prepare for battle." I say.

They stand up and run for their tasks.

After a couple seconds my team and the Argo crew, including Nico, Thalia and Reyna are te only ones here.

"So what now?" Hazel asks.

"We stand a good chance of winning this. We have the Romans, Greeks and the army. We can take them. Right now you should help your friends with last preparations. And get ready for battle." I say.

Annabeth and Thalia smile at me and the others nodded.

"You got it." Leo says. "Let's do this!" He and the rest run off.

Nico stays behind.

"Bianca.. Please be careful. I can't lose you again." He says to his sister.

"Of course. I'm always careful. You need to do the same okay!" She says.

Nico nods and hugs Bianca. He lets go and goes to the others to help.

"So are we going to wait for them to attack. Or are we attacking as soon as we are ready?" Zoë asks.

"No. We wait." I say. "I want you all to check the soldiers. If they need help. Help them. And wait for my orders." I say.

They nod and walk away.

"You are doing an amazing job." Chiron says behind me.

"Thank you."

"But right now you are carrying the whole war on your own." He says.

"Maybe. But I'm used to it." I tell him.
He looks at me with sad eyes.

"I wanted to apologize. You have no idea how sorry I am for letting this all happen." He says.
"You deserved better than a life full of battle and responsibilities."

"Chiron. Really, it is okay. I like my job." I say.

"Yes but.." He stops talking.

"Chiron. It's okay. I'm fine." I try to reassure him. "Look let's talk about this after battle okay?" I ask and he nods.

"Yeah you are right." He says. "I am going go assist the children. We will wait for you." He puts his hand on my shoulder and walks away.

I sigh.
I go to the Chaos cabin to prepare.

>>>>>

It has been almost two hours and nothing happened. I am still in the cabin.

I changed into battle uniform.
It is the same as the other soldiers.
Black cargo pants. Black leather boots and a black shirt.
I have a black cloth over my mouth and nose. The rest is visible.

I am sitting on the ground in my room.
I close my eyes and concentrate.

Chaos appears in my head.

"Percy! Tell me what is going on." He says.

"Well.. two hours ago the enemy arrived. Everyone is in position." I report.

"Good. But why aren't you with them?"

"I needed to think and talk to you before battle." I say. "Why is Nyx afraid of me?" I ask.

He raises his eyebrow in surprise.

"Because you are the most powerful demigod around there. She knows that with you there her chance of winning is smaller." He explains.

"But I am not even that powerful." I say.

"But you are, son." He says. "You have powers you don't even know about."

"What?" I say confused. "Powers? How could I have powers without knowing."

"It's difficult to explain. But you could see it as... uh.. a video game. Yeah a video game. You are a character. And with every battle, every mission you level up. And you gain new abilities and powers." He says. Looking quite pleased with that explanation.

"Okay... But how do I figure out how they work?" I ask.

"That is something that I don't know." He says. "You are the first commander in my army. I only know how powerful you have become. I can sense it around you."

"Oh.. Any chance I can figure it out within a couple minutes ?" I ask.

"I don't know. I hope so. Because Percy. She is comming. And she has company. As you thought she brought the giants with her. So prepare." He says.

"Thank you Chaos." I say.

"Be careful Percy." He says looking at me.

I nod and break the connection.

Great.

I close my eyes and try to concentrate on my body. On the energy in my body.

I slowely breathe in and out.

I think about every battle that I have fought.
All the things I learned.

I feel something.
Like my mind opens up. It's weird.

I open my eyes. Nothing seems changed.

I look at the clock. I open my eyes in surprise.
It is late. I look outside. Almost nightfall.

How can it be so late already?!

I stand up and feel strange.
I feel stronger, faster.

I smile and walk to the door of the cabin and walk outside.

The army and campers are in posistion.
The army of all kinds of monsters are standing about 20 feet away. Silent.

I take a second to look around.

Where is she?

That question was answered shortly after.

"Where is he? Where is your commander?" She asks.

She looks the same as last time. She seems to float just above the surface.

I walk forward and it took a couple seconds for her to notice me.

"There he is." She says smiling.

My army keeps looking forward. Not getting distracted. But the campers and Romans look behind them.

I can see that they are trying to figure out why I look familiar.

I walk straight to the frontline.

My soldiers and campers stepped aside and let me through.

I stand in front of my team and old frieds from the Argo.

They look at me. I can hear Piper gasp for breath.

"Is that..?" Jason whispers.

"Percy Jackson. Glad you could join us." Nyx says smiling.