Alpha's Story | Percy Jackson Chaos || COMPLETE

*Chapter 4*

PART II: Chaos' World

"I want to dye my hair," I said suddenly, as I passed a mirror in the long hallway. Chaos stopped and stared at me.

"Why?" he asked.

"I want it to look different. I want to look different." Chaos looked at me for a while, as if he was trying to figure out a hard puzzle.

"Come with me," he said eventually. I followed him to a huge, brightly-lit bathroom. 

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"You want to look different," he said simply.

"How different can I look? I want to dye my hair light brown, but you'll probably need to use magic to change my face very drastically."

"I can't make you a different person," Chaos said, making sure I wasn't getting the wrong impression. "To do that would require you to be re-born, which is exactly what we're trying to avoid."

"Then make me look different," I said, staring at myself in the huge mirror. "Make it so that no one can recognize me- not you, not me, not even Nico."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" he asked. "What if one day you want someone to see you as Bianca again, and they don't recognize you? What if one day you want to change it back?"

"Why are you so worried about how I'll feel in the future?" I asked, breaking my gaze from my reflection to his. He sighed and shook his head.

"I just know what it's like to regret a decision later on in life."

I didn't ask what he regretted. I didn't make him think about it anymore than he wanted to. 

Instead I just asked, "Alright, what should I do then?"

And I smiled to myself when he told me to wear a mask.

***

"Have you thought about the other half of my offer?" Chaos asked. We were now sitting in some kind of office.

"Other half?" I asked.

"About being the leader of my new army. It's not much of an army yet, I actually only have about 20 people picked out, but one day, I think it might be the best army I've created."

"I don't know," I said honestly. 

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you unsure about?"

"I just... I don't know how to lead an army. I'm just not cut out for it. It isn't who I am."

"Why do you think that?"

"I barely know anything about this stuff. The only thing I have some skill in is archery, and that's because I was a Hunter of Artemis."

"A Hunter Of Artemis?"

"A group of girls that hunt with Artemis, and have pledged to be maidens forever. They're immortal, but they can be killed in battle- that's why it was possible for me to die. Have you never heard of them? It's not really a new thing."

"I haven't seen Artemis in centuries," Chaos informed me, with a chuckle. "Although that makes sense, since she hates men so much."

"Fair enough," I said, with a smile. 

"Now, back to the army situation," he said. My smile dropped immediately.

"I can't lead an army, Chaos. I'm sorry."

"How about I make you a deal?" he asked.

"What kind of deal?"

"You clearly don't want to be a leader of an army."

"Is it really that obvious?"

"So, I'm going to suggest this: you don't need to be the leader, per se. However, I want this to be a strong army, and I don't want your talent wasted."

"I don't have any talent," I protested.

"Yes, you do. You just don't realize it. Now, what I'm proposing is that you don't become the leader of the army, but you do become the second-in-command."

"Second-in-command?" I echoed.

"It's a compromise," Chaos explained. "Do you think you can live with it?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think it'll be okay."

"Great. Now-"

"Chaos," I interrupted timidly. "Who's going to be the leader of the army, now that I've declined?"

"I don't know yet," Chaos replied. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure that it will ever get to the point where he wants to leave the life he has now."

"Does he have a good life, then?"

"Yes, he does. But a lot is asked of him. I fear that one day, something might happen to make him want to leave it all behind him.

"Now, getting back to you, we need to figure out your codename. Everyone in my armies chooses a codename to go by. Some people choose to use their real name, but not many. Most people, like you, are trying to get away from their old life."

"Are most of them demigods?" I asked, trying to piece together what these armies were like. I wanted to prepare myself.

"Yes, they are. Many of them were disowned by the gods in some way, each for their own reason. Because of that, things like ambrosia and nectar don't heal them. Others were left in my world by their godly parent when they were babies- having never seen the real world. There are also some who felt like they didn't belong in the human world."

"I think I'm starting to understand some of this," I said.

Chaos smiled, "It's a lot to take in, I know. You'll learn as we go. Now that we're on the topic though, what do you want to tell people about your past?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're going to assume you're like them. That you're in my world for one of those reasons. If you prefer you can tell them the truth, but considering how much you've wanted to keep hidden..."

"I'll tell them I was dumped here by my godly parent. I could tell them I came from another Training Ground."

Chaos nodded, "Yes, that would work. They won't talk about it if you don't want to, so you don't need to come up with a detailed cover story if you don't want to. Now, what do you want your code name to be?"

"I get to choose it?"

"Of course."

"Anything I want?"

"Just remember it's your new name. It's what everyone will call you."

I thought about it for a couple seconds. What everyone will call me. A new name. A new identity.

"Alpha," I finally decided. "My new name will be Alpha."