Luke POV
It's been about a week since Percy's death. Since I'm second in command, I had to lead the Chaos army. It sucks being the leader. You have to act serious, know what your doing, have a plan for things. I wonder how Perce did it. He was a natural born commander. While walking to the Big House for a meeting, my mind went back to the funeral.
Flashback
It's been 3 days since Percy's death. The atmosphere in the camp was gloomy due to the fact that they lost their only hope to win the war. The army was a wreck. Selina and Beckendorf were constantly in their rooms mourning over their friend, Beckendorf's best man during their wedding. Zoë was trying to comfort the Hunters as they were also affected by his death (gasp a male being mourned over by the man-hating girls.) The others were also affected but they continued to train the campers. I had to put on a determined face so that no one would panic but it hurt me, to see my best friend's dead body. The one who got it the worst was Skye. She and Percy had bonded a lot over the few weeks they knew each other. She stayed in her room for about a day and we were scared that she was falling back into depression but then she came out the next day with a face of confidence. It was all a facade tho. Anyone who looked into her eyes could see it. She was broken, first her mother then Percy. The people that were the most important in her life died and it was killing her on the inside. I remembered a conversation Mr and Percy had a long time ago. (I wanted to do a flashback but can a flashback happen inside a flashback? Ehh Frick it)
Flashback inside a flashback
"So if you died, where would you like to be buried?" I ask him. He seemed to think about it for a while.
"The ocean" he decided. "It's my father's territory and where I always felt at peace and when I die, I wanna be at peace."
"Good choice. But imagine if I died. My father doesn't really have any territory. Would I be buried in a shipping container?" I ponder and then we both burst out laughing.
Flashback in a flashback over
With all the joking we did about us dying, we never actually expected it to happen. He was the strongest person I knew (besides Chaos). The whole camp was mourning, not just for Percy, but for all their siblings who died in the battle. Even the gods were upset. Tears fell from Poseidon when he saw the broken body of his son and an earthquake occurred. Hestia cried and the hearth nearly went out because she almost lost all hope. The only one who wasn't sad was Ryan. He was trying to regain power with Percy gone and James was too busy trying to prepare his cabin mates to stop him. He didn't get very far before the Hunters almost murdered him. I remembered where Percy wanted to be buried and I respected his wishes. I told the others and the gods my idea and they agreed. At midnight, Poseidon along with all his offspring parted the sea Moses style. Every god, demigod, nature spirit or hunter that had ever met Percy came to his funeral. Heck even Chaos came. He told me that he would send the rest of the army to help and that he would fight his brother when the battle started. Looking around, I saw how many people his death affected. Tyson was bawling his eyes out and Grover was beside him no matter how scared he was. Thousands of sea creatures came to honour their fallen prince. The gravesite was beautiful. The moon was glowing brightly as if Artemis herself were trying to make his burial special. Percy was layed inside a golden coffin with wavelike patters on the sides. He looked so peaceful it was if he were sleeping and could wake up at any moment. There was writing engraved on the coffin saying, 'here lies the greatest demigod we have ever know' and listing out all his achievements on Earth. If they listed his feats out of earth, that would have taken all day to read. Beautiful plants were placed everywhere around the grave. Most were given by Demeter and her children but some were planted by Calypso. She placed moonlace on the edges of the burial site. It glowed in the darkness giving light to the surrounding area.
"I hope this light can guide your way young hero" she said before stepping towards Leo. Some speeches were made and I decided to do one myself.
"Percy Jackson was the best person that I knew. He single handedly changed our lives and showed me that I could be something more in my life" I said.
"He showed me that not all men were completely bad in this world" Zoë continued.
"He was our commander, our friend, our family member. No one can replace him in this world" Beckendorf and Selina said together.
"He would have gladly layed his life down for any of us. But this time, he layed his life down for all of us" Ethan and Michael said.
"So let's avenge him. We'll destroy End so that the deaths of our brothers and sisters will not be in vain" shouted Bianca. Everyone shouted their approval. I glanced at Skye who's facade was broken and was crying silently. I felt bad for her but there was nothing I could do. After the burial rights, which were done by Nico and Hades, Skye walked up to the coffins and gingerly placed riptide in its sword form on the top. The sword glowed slightly as if it were content with being near its master. At this point, everyone was tired and headed off to their cabin. The sea closed and surrounded the grave but the sea was now pure, clean and blue around the burial site. Poseidon said we could visit his grave if we wanted to and all we had to do was pray to him.
Flashback over
I reached the big house. I put on my confident commander face, took a deep breath and stepped into the room. The whole room was silent. The camp had gotten a lot quieter since Percy's death. Everyone was waiting for End to attack. We were worried for Chaos because End was just as strong, if not stronger than him. He was on the Chaos planet preparing himself and the army who would be arriving in a few hours.
"So what's the battle plan?" I ask.
"We have set up the Apollo campers and the Hunters at the back. The Ares and Athena cabin along with the Chaos army are going to be in the front lines. Everyone else will be protecting the camp" said Annabeth. I looked at the map of camp. We didn't have enough people.
"Do we have any reinforcements?" I ask hopefully.
"The Romans would have come but camp Jupiter is being attacked and they need to defend their home" Jason said.
"I have called my sister's and they should arrive in a few days" Skye said. Her voice sounded hoarse. Probably because she hasn't spoken in a few days.
"Poseidon and the sea army will also come to help this battle" James said. He was accompanied by Ryan because he was still new to the cabin counselor thing.
"My dad might come and summon the undead warriors to help but it would drain him a lot" Nico said.
"The Amazons won't come to help because Hylla went to help the Romans" Hazel said.
"My brethren can't come because they are too spread out to do anything. Lupa and her pack also went to help the Romans" said Chiron.
I rubbed my temples to stop the oncoming migraine.
"Dammit. How did Percy do this?" I ask angrily while slamming my fist into the table. Zoë put her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. It started to work until the idiot spoke.
"Why do we need him anyways? You have me! I'm the strongest demigod alive. He was some worthless pawn that died for nothing" Ryan said. It was a horrible choice of words. A light beam blasted Ryan inta a wall where a light sword was pointed at his neck. Thunder boomed and the temperature in the room dropped severely because of Thalia's and Nico's rage. The Hunters had their bows drawn and pointed at the male. The commanders, myself included, had our weapons drawn and pointed at the idiot.
"You do not get to say he is weak. He had more strength than you in his pinky finger" Skye growled. Ryan's face was white as chalk and he looked as if he what his pants.
"Aww, you guys do care"
Percy POV (idk wat to say to those of you who thought he actually died.)
The first thing I noticed about this place was the darkness. There was nothing, completely empty space. I had no idea what I was stepping on but it felt solid. The next thing I noticed was the cold. It wasn't cold like the place was icy, it was cold because of the lack of heat. This place seemed devoid of everything. You know you've been watching too much animé when your fist reaction to seeing this place was 'my gods, he killed me so hard I went into the shadow realm!'. I wondered how I got here. I was pretty sure I died. That tends to happen when your heart is stabbed through with a sword. I then felt a very powerful being enter this place. His aura was stronger than Chaos or End himself.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I ask putting my hand into my pocket. Riptide wasn't there. I cursed myself for making noise without having a weapon to defend myself.
"Don't Frick with me. I have the power of God and animé on my side" I shout raising my fists in a defensive manner.
"Do not worry young hero, I will not hurt you" said a voice coming from my right. It sounded ancient and powerful. I turned in the direction of the voice.
"Why am I here?" I demanded. "Where even is this place?"
"This is the realm of the faded. It is where immortals go when they are forgotten or are so hurt that they fade from existence. As to why you are here, you are very special. You are the key to winning this war with my son" the voice said.
"Wait son? First of all, I thought Chaos was the first being in the universe. Then I realize he has a brother and a sister. Now your saying your his father? Who are you?" I ask.
"All beings have to rise from something, even creation itself. I am Void, father of Chaos, Order and End. I'm here to make you an offer" void explained.
"Go on" I reply not lowering my fists.
"My son End has gone crazy. He will stop at nothing to destroy his brother's creations. Order cannot help because she is a peaceful primordial. Chaos will fight End and he will lose. The thing is, the power of creation is only limited to your imagination and your strength. While Chaos possesses the strength, the author has no imagination whatsoever. He will lose the battle and the universe as we know it will crumble" Void said.
"Ok good exposition but how am I supposed to help. I'm not sure if you know this, but I died last time I fought him" I say.
"That is why I brought you here. You are the only mortal strong enough to accept my blessing. If you don't, then everyone you know will die and the universe will slowly crumble to nothingness" he said.
"If it means saving my friends, then I'll do it. Also how are they reacting to my death?" I ask.
"Not very well. Especially my granddaughter. She is mentally broken right now and nobody can help her" void explained. I felt instantly guilty for dying. I then felt like dying again as Void slowly chanted in a language older than time itself. My body absorbed the essence of the place around me. It merged itself with my soul and I felt myself become stronger.
"Huh. You actually lived. The process had a 50/50 chance of you surviving" Void said impressed.
"You could have told me that earlier. Also, how would I die? Aren't I already dead? Also what powers do I have?" I ask.
"If you died, your soul would have shattered and be scattered around this realm. As to what your powers are, I don't know. I haven't given anyone my blessing before now" he explained.
"Oh" I say.
"I hope you manage to save the universe. If not, then I'll be seeing you again very soon" Void said and waved his hand in a go away gesture. I sat up and hit my head on a glass. After rubbing my head for a few seconds, I realized I was in a coffin. Another thing I realized was that I was underwater. Luke remembered! I also saw Riptide laying on top of the coffin. I vapour travelled out of the box and grabbed Riptide. It had a slight change, it absorbed the power of the water around it. I got comfort in the familiar weight of the sword in my hand. I also realized that I wasn't wearing my cloak meaning that the campers knew my identity. Well shist. I looked around. 'Not a bad burial' I thought to myself. I liked the plants and the moonlace but it needed more blue. Since the campers knew who I was, I didn't need a good anymore. I used the water to propel myself out of the water and onto the beach. I noticed that it was eerily quiet. The satyrs weren't tending to the strawberries, Peleus wasn't making a sound while guarding the fleece. I checked the time and since no one was training at the arena, they were probably in a meeting (see I'm smart.) Just outside the Big House, I heard something or someone hit the wall really hard. I then heard thunder boom in the distance which either meant Zeus was being a drama queen, someone swore on the river Styx or Thalia was pissed. I peeked my head inside and saw Ryan pinned to the wall by Skye and everyone else pointing their weapons at the son of Poseidon.
"You do not get to say he is weak. He had more strength than you in his pinky finger" Skye growled. Were they were talking about me? I presumed that they were.
"Aww, you guys do care" I say leaning on the door frame with my hands on my heart. All heads turned to the sound of my voice and theirs jaws dropped. I mentally smirked at their shocked faces. After a few seconds of casually standing there I spoke again.
"I crawl back from the dead and I don't even get a hug?" I ask. I all snapped out of their shock and dog piled onto me. First it was the commanders who nearly hugged the life out of me, then it was the campers.
"How are you here right now? I felt your soul leave your body" Nico asked me. Just as I was about to explain I heard someone shouted.
"Seaweed brain!" And I turned just in time for Annabeth to crash her lips onto mine in a passionate kiss. After about 3 seconds, my mind registered what just happened and I shoved her away.
"The Frick Annie? Gah" I yell. I summoned a bottle of bleach and started chugging the liquid.
(Do not try this at home. He is the son of a god and is now basically immortal. My guess is that you are not.)
I heard Luke snicker at my antics and at Annabeth's shocked expression.
"Am I not allowed to kiss my boyfriend?" She asked. That got people to stop laughing.
"Last I checked, we weren't dating" I say coldly. Her face turned pale.
"Percy I made a mistake. Take me back please" she basically begged.
"Yeah, I think imma pass" I reply. I turned towards Skye who was still staring at me in shock.
"I think I broke the flashlight" I joke. That snapped her out of her trance. She walked up to me and slapped me hard on the fame before pulling me into a hug and burying her face into my chest.
"Don't you ever die on me again fish face" she said angrily, her face still his my chest.
"No promises" I reply with a smile hugging her back. Once we pulled away, I talked again.
"So, what's the plan?"