The Betrayed Hero

Chapter 14

Eleven years later

Camp Half Blood

The camp was in a complete mess; monster attacks were becoming more frequent; there were no dead half-bloods, but the campers were suffering from serious injuries. There were other monsters camping in groups, preparing to attack, according to Grover and other satyrs who were out in the wild. The camp's defences were stretched thin as the increased number of monster attacks overwhelmed their resources. The campers and satyrs worked furiously to build the borders and devise strategies to fight the coming attacks. Despite their efforts, the situation remained dangerous, and everyone at Camp Half-Blood recognised the need for a determined strategy to restore order and safety.

Messages were sent out requesting that the hunters return to the camp for help; even the Romans planned to join them.

Meetings were held as everyone was concerned, and the gods feared it was the prophecy.

The gods were seeking allies to help them in the war that would follow the prophecy.

Everyone was mulling, trying to figure out what the prophecy would mean.

'Once defeated, shall rise again.

Vengeance would be wanted again.

Would be the hero and the broken,

Olympus would fall again'.

'What would that mean?' asked Persephone. Once again, a meeting was held at the Olympus. All the Olympians were sitting at their thrones; even Hades was present for the meeting.

"'Once defeated' could be anyone, like some minotaurs, giants, or anyone we defeated in this war or in the past," Hermes said.

"Or it could be Kronos or Gaia," Athena replied, her eyes cold.

"Or it could be both and everyone else." Artemis countered, her eyes fixed on the other goddess. "The attacks are too powerful just to be planned by some monsters; this is something big and has been done with proper planning."

The air in the throne room became thick and tense as the Olympians exchanged their thoughts and suspicions. Zeus, the king of the gods, leaned forward on his throne, his expression grave. "We must gather more information and devise a strategy," he declared, his voice commanding the attention of all present. The weight of their responsibility hung heavily in the air, urging them to act swiftly before any further devastation occurred.

"What about the 'hero' and the 'broken'?" Ares asked with an evil smirk playing on his face, his eyes filled with mischievous fire. The God of War was always ready to pick fights with the heroes.

"They could be anyone, anyone from the seven of the prophecy, the Romans, or anyone from the camp," Annabeth answered.

"Or any dead hero," Chiron added, "it could be Luke or any other hero that died at the war, or it could be Percy."

Hades paled at the mention of Luke. "It can't be Luke; Luke is in the underworld," he hastily added. Nico knew something was wrong; he felt it right when he visited the underworld all those years ago. Until today, he could feel it; the underworld felt empty.

Zeus turned towards Poseidon and asked, "Where is Perseus, brother?"

Poseidon groaned, running a hand through his once jet black hair, now slowly turning grey since Percy's disappearance. "As I said nine years ago, brother, I don't know."

Zeus glared at his brother.

"We will need help to win this war; we cannot do this alone, just with so little of us," Hephaestus added.

Everyone agreed that they needed more allies to win the war. They realised that finding Perseus would be critical to connecting other gods and demigods to their cause.

"But where can we find help?" Travis asked

"We will look into that matter later. As of now, keep the Riptide safe and strengthen the camp's defences," Apollo advised.

Planet Chaos

During these nine years, the Elite team participated in many battles and missions as a group, while Percy also went on many assassinations on his own.

They still called him Zale; no one dared to call him Percy.

Luke had apologised to him, and honestly, Percy had informed him that he would take his time to trust him again, which he did. Even though Luke was second in command, Percy took it upon himself to train with him as hard as he could, often looking over his shoulder at Laszlo, but he gradually began to trust him, and they now consider themselves close partners.

The team members were training alongside the soldiers when Zale noticed Laszlo struggling to teach a teen how to block attacks with his double swords. Zale smiled and turned his focus to others, practising observing their movements like a hawk. Despite the difficulties, Zale praised Laszlo's desire to train the teen. He understood that Laszlo's commitment to his work as a teacher was important to their team's success. As Zale observed the others, he couldn't help but be happy for the close relationship they had established through their shared training experiences. Luna held his right hand lightly.

He could see the Elite team training with each other when he decided to join them.

Nine years have passed since Percy revealed himself to the team members, and three years have passed since he told them what happened to him at the camp. The members were furious at their parents and old friends.

"Commander, Lord Chaos has asked for the elite team to meet him in the office," the assistant to Chaos said as she came into the training area in search of Percy.

With a nod, Zale motioned for the group to exit the room with him. He called out to Laszlo to come along, urging the other soldiers to get on with their training.

With their cloaks fluttered behind them, the team made their way quietly towards the office.

Zale knocked on the door before entering the office. Over these years, the decorations in the office changed, but it still had the same cosy vibes that made everyone feel at ease. As they entered, Chaos sat behind his desk, a warm smile on his face. "Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing towards the chairs arranged in front of him. The team settled in, ready to discuss the mission at hand.

As soon as they entered the room, Laszlo flopped down on the coach, letting out a huff and pulling down his hood, looking straight at Zale in his eyes, which were now uncovered by the hood.

"Next time you are teaching that boy."

Everyone laughed at the glaring trainer.

"You are the trainer for a reason; what would apples think if she found out her owner was just giving up?" Zale said, controlling the laughter that was bubbling in his chest. "Hey, don't bring my precious apples into this," he said, pointing at the commander.

"If you all have finished laughing, let's get back to what I had called you all here for." Chaos asked, raising an eyebrow. His face was stern; there was no trace of the smile that usually adorned his face; this meant business. Everyone straightened their backs and sat up straight in their chairs, ready to hear Chaos' instructions. As they waited for his next words, the room grew silent; the air was tight with a sense of anticipation.

"Thank you. Now I have a mission for you all. You won't like it, but it's your job," Chaos said, getting straight to the point with his stern voice. When everyone nodded their heads, he continued, "It's on earth, more specifically at Camp Half Blood."

Everyone in the room stilled and turned to look at their commander, "Zale." Laszlo started, but was quickly stopped when the commander raised his hand. His face was blank of emotions, but his eyes were giving away; they were changing colours.

"It comes with the job, Laszlo," he said, turning to face the creator. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow"

Zale nodded. "We will leave after finishing breakfast. Everyone should be ready. No one gets late. Laszlo, you will join us after two days. Train the army and keep them ready. We might need a backup." He completed it, leaving no room for arguments. His eyes were now clear, but his face was still closed off, giving others a hard time to read what he was feeling. And then he left the room.