-Front steps of Big House, Camp Half-Blood; After breakfast-

~Charis' Point of View~

A tense atmosphere covered Camp Half-Blood since the missing demigod son of Poseidon appeared. It took some time for the reality of how injured Percy was to hit. Thinking back on it, he was covered in slashes, claw marks, blood, and tattered clothes. What did Percy Jackson go through from the time of his disappearance?

"Has anyone seen Kosmos?" Malantha's sudden question broke the silence between us unit leaders.

Milos, Vernandos, and I shared a look. Nothing good came out of a missing assassin, especially one named Kosmos.

Hesper and Nyke stood further away from the Big House steps, having a quiet conversation. After breakfast we moved here to gauge the situation on Percy and to wait for units 1 and 5 to arrive. Not much has been revealed about the first situation and we are still waiting to hear from the ship that's carrying the two units.

Hearing Malantha's question about the assassin, Hesper and Nyke looked around. Nyke swore lightly. "Every time something major happens, he just has to go off on his own." The stressed commander rubbed his eyes, sighing in exhaustion.

"There's not much we can do about him." Milos shrugged. We were all used to Kosmos' non-cooperative ways.

Hesper stomped her foot in anger. "Nyke, perhaps it is time to revisit our previous conversation concerning a certain assassin."

"What conversation?" I asked, looking between the two. "Are you two having private conversations without us?" A smirk tugged at my lips. I knew there was something going on between those two in the past, but I didn't think they would do it on an official mission. Romance is best suited to blossom on unofficial missions. Too many things can go wrong on official missions.

That last thought brought back unpleasant memories. Getting reminders of a time when a special someone left to go on an official mission made my heart ache. It makes me worry about how Percy is doing. What could he have gone through this time?

"It was nothing." Nyke glared at Hesper. "I already informed Chaos of our conversation. He was more concerned about the voice than the accusations against Kosmos."

"What voice?" Several of us asked.

Hesper huffed. "That's not the main concern here."

"You heard a voice in your head that called Kosmos a liar."

"Kosmos was wrong. Percy Jackson is alive, here at camp, after what looks like being tortured. The assassin dismissed every topic of Percy and now he suffered for it!" The unit 1 leader exclaimed, breathing heavy. Did Hesper, the one who barely tolerated men, just get upset on a man's behalf?

"Am I dreaming?"

"Hesper, have you been replaced by a double?"

"Why are you so surprised?"

"Could this mean you are open to falling in love?"

"Am I high on mushrooms again?"

The surprising question came from Milos. We all looked at him like we were seeing him for the first time. "What?" He asked in defense, looking away. "I lost a bet on a different planet after a mission and it ended with me high on the fumes of fermented mushrooms."

"What bet?' Vernandos asked.

"Ah," Milos rubbed his neck nervously. "I lost a duel."

"You lost a duel? With swords?" Malantha asked the question we were all thinking.

Milos started stammering, acting flustered. "Maybe?" He barely got out.

I gasped and started laughing. The others weren't far behind. "The unit leader who specializes in swordfighting of Chaos' Army lost a fight?" Malantha asked, setting off everyone more. Even Hesper was laughing at this point. "Well, someone other than Nyke of course."

Vernandos snorted.

-Big House, Camp Half-Blood; Some time before the leader's of Chaos' Army came to the front steps-

~Piper's Point of View~

These past days have brought back memories of last Winter when Jason, Leo, and I first came to Camp Half-Blood. A missing camper, the boyfriend of Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson. Every connection pulled and lead was followed in the search for him. This time, Annabeth refused to wait around for the gods to contact anyone.

Storming Mount Olympus and the throne room was easy. Too easy as the Olympians did not have the answer to the whereabouts of Percy. And here we are, sitting around waiting for the son of Poseidon to tell us what happened. Once he wakes up that is.

Both Apollo and Will walked out of the infirmary. We all quickly stood. "How is he?" Annabeth asked.

Apollo looked over to Poseidon, not answering the question. It was Will who responded. "He's stable. There was some blood lost, and quite a few serious injuries, but he should be fine. We have him in a sea bath right now. Hopefully being submerged in sea water will help heal him."

"There's nothing else that can be done?" Jason frowned, worried.

I glanced over at Annabeth to see how she was taking the news. Thalia had her hand in Annabeth's to comfort her.

Poseidon spoke next. "There's nothing much that can be done until Percy wakes up."

Apollo nodded. "We gave him as much nectar and ambrosia as a demigod can safely consume. Now all we can do is wait until he wakes."

"If he wakes." Nico grimly said.

"Nico!" Jason, Thalia, and Will reprimanded, glaring at the son of Hades.

He glared right back. "We need to be realistic. From what Chaos was saying, he didn't know where Percy was. Now Percy is back and injured. He was heavily involved in the last two wars. I don't believe the enemy let Percy go without knowing he won't be a threat. Or that he escaped without whoever we are facing knowing."

"Nico is right." Annabeth spoke for the first time since we left the dining pavilion. "Either Percy was released for a reason or he escaped and it won't be long until they realize."

There was a heavy silence after the reality of the situation was spoken out loud.

"Can we see him?" Hazel asked.

Before Apollo or Will could answer there was a loud bang outside. We all shared an uncertain look and quickly moved.

I made it to the front porch of the big house first. I was startled to see the leaders of Chaos gathered around the steps. I noticed Kosmos wasn't in their group. "What happened?" I asked, looking around for the source of the bang noise.

Hesper sighed angrily. "It seems someone from unit 5 was piloting today."

"It was one time. The last time this happened it wasn't someone from my unit." Milos countered.

Charis scoffed. "That was a small incident from my unit."

"At least it wasn't as bad as the Merridas incident." Vernandos said. The Merridas incident must have been a bad experience as they all flinched.

"What is going on?" Annabeth asked, sounding more like her normal self.

Nyke sighed. "My apologies." He bowed his head. "It seems the pilot had made a miscalculation. Thankfully, the barrier around Camp Half-Blood is still intact."

"Pilot?"

"Miscalculation?"

"What happened to the barrier?"

Nyke smiled a little. "The ship carrying Units 1 and 5 has arrived."

-Meanwhile in an unknown location-

~3rd Person's Point of View~

In an unknown place engulfed by darkness a voice could be heard laughing. "Poor little beings. It seems my trap is already working." A cruel smile can be seen in the dark. "Soon you will all perish. Not even he can save them all now."

More laughter rang out. "No matter what you do, you will fail...Kosmos."

As I said last week, this chapter was a bit shorter than normal. And writing it was tough. The same can't be said for chapter 13. 

I didn't work on chapter 13 too much until yesterday and today when I really was able to keep writing without stopping much. Sadly, I couldn't finish the chapter until almost 10:20 PM as I spent 12 hours today helping my sister move. 

I was able to wake up earlier than her and was able to get almost half of the chapter done. I just wasn't able to pick it back up until after 9 PM as I had to do some other things before writing the rest. 

I am excited for next week as one of the unit leaders has a eavesdropper on a private conversation and things happen. Chapter 14 then picks up with some surprises and lots of talks. I cannot to wait to write and share what happens next. 

Also, I was able to figure out how long this book is going to be. I am planning on 18 chapters and publishing the last one on May 20th. It might come out early or late in the day depending as it is my sister's wedding shower. 

Anyway, I will leave this here as I should be going for this to not get too long. Until next week! 

~MsPenguingirl1234. 

Published: April 8th, 2023.