Percy walked through the new landscape thoughtfully. Everything on this new planet was surprisingly... normal. It was weird to think of. Percy's brain had made him think that Khaos' base planet for military operations would be less... normal. Hades, even Earth's military capitals looked different compared to normal society. Really, the only thing Percy could say he wasn't surprised about was that the main color scheme was, you guessed it!

Black and pink.

Gold star to Khaos for being predictable.

Nevertheless, Percy decided to make the most of his time before he had to leave on his first mission.

Training with Hishumu's army. Man, that guy's name was a handful.

After the meeting, Khaos had informed Percy that Hishumu had taken the job that had been offered to Percy multiple chapters back; commander of the Khaos army.

Percy didn't know what to think of the guy. Sure, it was great that someone filled the much-needed position, but Percy didn't know anything about the guy. Plus, Khaos had said the Hishumu was a "second pick," and second picks didn't always feel good about that ranking. Hopefully, this Hishoey person didn't know that he was second-rate, and Percy could get out of this month unscathed.

Percy snorted. As if.

Hishumu stares at the letter in front of him. Khaos has sent it; it wasn't signed, but the paper was pink.

Apparently a new guy was to train with his elite army for one month before moving on in order to serve the Primordial Council. Hishumu cringed. Bad luck for that guy.

He hadn't been given any of the details about this new guy other than his name, Percy Jackson.

The name didn't sound familiar to Hishumu. He was obviously from a different planet, possibly even galaxy than Hishumu originated from. But he must be good to be in the service of the Primordials.

Hishumu grabbed a pen and started writing out a schedule for the new guy. Might as well have him experience a bit of everything the first week, and then focus on his strengths for the other three.

Khaos has told Hishumu that Percy was going to train with him directly. That made Hishumu raise an eyebrow at this Percy's power level. He must be even better than originally thought.

Once Hishumu finished writing out Percy's schedule for the first week, he looked back at the letter and read it again.

Commander Hishumu,

           I am writing to alert you to the future presence of the Primordial's new servant, Percy Jackson. However, I would advise you to never mention that occupation title to him; he is rather annoyed by it all.

          Percy is going to train with your army for one month, but, more specifically, with you for one month. I feel you two can learn much from one another. He is rather new to the idea of life outside his planet, so I advise that you gently throw him into the concept. He needs to train, learn, and be able to adapt in any environment. I trust you understand the meaning behind those words.

          I truly believe you will enjoy this month with Percy Jackson. He is a very interesting person to have around.

                                                                                                                                                                     
Hishumu glanced up at the clock in his office. Percy would be arriving in ten minutes, so he better head out to meet him at the arrival point. Hishumu doubted that Khaos had warned Percy of the arrival... conditions.

Percy sighed as he hefted his bag over his shoulder. Khaos had told him that there would be a uniform of sorts waiting for him, so he didn't need to bring too much.

The room he had been told was his for the day was rather spacious, with a large bed, bathroom, dresser, and desk filling up not even half of the room. His clothes from earth had been moved there, something Percy didn't want to think about but still did. He shuddered as he imagined all the primordials arguing over what underwear should be brought here.

Percy walked over to the glowing orb Khaos had handed to him before he left the council meeting. He had said to grab onto it once the light started pulsing. Percy noticed a change in the orb's light and quickly grabbed hold of it. As soon as his hand touched it, his world went black.

Percy opened his eyes not even a second later to see something strange and disconcerting. He was stuck on a platform in the middle of a dropped field. On each side of him was a different element: earth, fire, water, and air. His platform was raised above it all, but there was no noticeable pathway to steady land that he could see. In fact, Percy couldn't see any land whatsoever.

As he was about to enter the water portion of the field, everything rotated. Percy hadn't moved an inch, yet each element shifted one to the left. Percy froze on the platform. This obviously would not be as easy as he had hoped.

Percy decided to study the elements a bit more. The earth quarter was full of jutting, sharp rocks that protruded from the ground in formations that made Percy dizzy to look at. the ground also appeared to be constantly shaking.

The fire landscape was a mix of molten lava, hot rock, and bursts of upward flame that threatened to make Percy into some tasty barbeque.

The water quarter was, at first sight, like an ocean. He could not see a bottom, a beginning, or an end. But what gave Percy a pause was that he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't feel the water or anything in it. That made the water landscape dangerous territory, even for him. The waters felt foreign, and Percy knew how perilous uncharted waters could be.

The air quarter was full of swirling tornadoes, strong gusts of wind from all directions, and flying debris. Not something Percy would be too fond to cross through.

Percy turned in a full circle on his little platform examining all the elemental landscapes once more. He didn't know which one he should try to cross. Normal logic would dictate that Percy should brave the water quarter, but he felt uneasy thinking about it. Percy knew his limits regarding water that didn't belong to his father's domain. He was not stupid enough to risk that.

That left three more options. While he wasn't all too easy to burn, he also wasn't Leo Valdez and couldn't leave unscathed. And between earth and air, Percy felt he would rather risk the earth. It didn't have flying debris waiting to hit him like a Frisbee, and earth was more familiar to him anyway.

His decision made, Percy made to move toward the earth quarter when everything around him began to spin once more, but this time the elements didn't change positions.

When Percy opened his eyes again, he was on what actually struck him as a military base rather than a normal planet. He heard the sounds of fighting all around him and slowly turned to take it all in. After he had seen everything, he noticed a smiling young man, about Percy's own age, standing nearby leaning against a wall. He saw Percy look at him and walked forward.

"Percy Jackson," the man said. "I'm Hishumu, the commander of the army here. Welcome to the planet Valoria. Now let's begin your training."