Finding Home

Chapter 7 - New Friends

Everyone looked up when we came out into the common room. Before I could say anything, Frank walked through the portal. "Well, this is new." He muttered.

The team laughed. "Oh, my gods." Will said in between laughs. "That is probably the smallest reaction we have ever gotten."

Frank blushed and Leo walked through next. He looked around for a second. "THIS IS AWESOME!" He shouted, which just sent everyone into another round of laughter.

But Hazel's reaction was what really set them off. When she walked through and saw the group of laughing teenagers, she walked over to Frank and grabbed his hand. Then she studied the room for a minute or two. She only had one question. "Why is it blue?" she whispered to me.

At this point, I thought my family, who had survived countless wars, would die of laughter. "Well Ms. Levesque, blue just happens to be my favorite color." I answered.

After everyone calmed down, Bianca tackled Hazel in a hug and started rambling about how much fun they would have. Nico also greeted his sister with a hug and a smile, but Bianca was a lot bubblier than her brother. I showed Frank and Leo the training room and helped them pick out their rooms. I assumed that Bianca would be helping Hazel, so I didn't worry about that.

Then my dad showed up. "Percy? Are these the new recruits?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yes Father. This is Leo Valdez and Frank Zhang."

Dad nodded to them before turning his attention back to me. "Are you okay? It was a bad idea to send you to Terra, wasn't it? Ananke was right, it's too soon." He started pacing.

"Dad, look at me." I said, forcing myself to relax. When he stopped pacing to face me, I pulled him into a hug. "It's fine. You didn't do anything wrong, being on Terra wasn't that bad. It was actually probably good for me to return." I said with my face buried in his shoulder.

Leo, being Leo, spoke as soon as we pulled apart. "You're a king, right? Perseus said you were a king. Am I supposed to be bowing right now, or something? I mean, he said you guys weren't big on formalities and stuff, but is bowing still a thing?"

Dad laughed, and I sent a grateful smile to Leo. "I suppose I am a king." He turned to me. "How much did you tell them?"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Well, I sort of just told them we were a group of people who traveled around helping people."

Dad sighed. "Fine. I'll do it." He turned back to the two demigods. "Team Omega is a team that travels the universe to help planets in need."

Leo was very obviously shocked. His eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open. "Aliens are real?"

I nodded slowly. "Just don't call them that. It's offensive."

Leo nodded and we walked back to the common room. As soon as Luke saw Dad, he grinned mischievously. "Hey C!" He called.

Dad turned to Luke. "Yes Luke?"

"Has Nico punched you yet?"

Dad blinked in surprise. "No. Why?"

Luke looked at him like he was an idiot. "You sent Perce back to Terra, and he came back all guarded again. Why do you think? Will might even be more likely to help him than to stop him."

Dad winced. "I think Planet 671B needs help and Nico is just the man for the job."

I snickered. Planet 671B was all the way across the universe. "I don't think so. I need Nico here to help me practice my shadow manipulation. Perhaps we should send Silena."

Dad looked horrified but nodded slowly. "Perhaps."

"I mean, it is a diplomatic mission. I thought we agreed never to send Nico on one of those again after he attacked the king we were supposed to be making peace with."

Dad sighed. "Fine. Send Silena. But when I die, it's on you."

I smirked and bowed, which I knew would annoy him. "Of course, Lord Chaos. Will you be needing anything else?"

Dad glared at me and retaliated. "No. That will be all, Prince Perseus."

I scowled at him. "Very well, Your Highness."

Instead of glaring at me, he just smirked. "Well, if we're really playing this game..."

I paled, realizing that he was about to list my official titles for the newbies. "Please don't."

Luke smirked as well. "No, please continue."

I glared halfheartedly at him, but he just smirked at me, smiling widely. Dad grinned and turned to the other two, who had been looking between the two of us in confusion. "Boys, meet Perseus, Son of Chaos, Prince of the Stars, Protogenos of All, Savior of worlds, Slayer of monsters, one of the only two survivors of the pit, Commander of the Chaos Army, Leader of Team Omega, Bringer of hope and death, most powerful person to ever live, and Heir of the universe."

It didn't take long for the two of us to start throwing insults at each other.

Leo leaned toward Luke. "Isn't Chaos, like, the creator of everything?"

Luke nodded. "Yup."

"So wouldn't he be the most powerful person to ever live?"

"Nope. Perce was only a bit less powerful, and that was before he was trained in his powers. Now, Chaos is the only person who can last ten minutes against him." Luke said.

"That's really cool."

"Yup. My turn to ask a question. How long was he all closed off down there?" Luke asked.

Leo frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When Percy gets annoyed, anxious, or uncomfortable, he tends to act guarded and distant." Luke explained.

"Oh. Well, he was like that almost the whole time," Leo said. "He only seemed happy when he started talking about you guys."

I paused my verbal sparring match with Dad and turned to them. "I can hear you. Thanks for telling the newbies my secrets." I was struggling to sound casual, even though I was frustrated with him. I didn't need him to be more worried than he already was.

"Sorry Perce."

I shook my head. "It's alright, I understand. I'm going to go rest in my room. If anyone really needs me, send Nico." Then I teleported to my room.

I didn't know how I was feeling at the moment. I had returned to Terra, and it put me on edge. I had convinced myself that I was fine, or that I didn't hold a grudge towards anyone on it. But I did. I still hated those camps. They had broken me, even if I didn't let the team see. Sure, they knew the camps betrayed me, and they hated them for it, but I still had trouble letting anyone close to me. Even my family, who I would die for. I was certain that if I let them in, they would hurt me like my other family did.

I laid on my bed and allowed a few tears to fall. I released all my pent-up emotions, knowing that it would be worse to keep them bottled up. A while later, I calmed down enough to be able to sleep.

Three weeks later, the three were officially welcomed onto the team.

Leo became apprentice and heir to Helios and Protogenos of Fire and Invention. His curly hair turned a deep red, but other than that, he stayed the same.

Hazel became apprentice and heir to the Moirai and Protogenos of Fate and Destiny. Her appearance didn't change, but her mannerisms did. She wasn't as unsure of herself and, although she was still kind and sweet tempered, if you managed to make her mad, she was as fierce as a wildcat.

Frank became apprentice and heir to Elpis and Protogenos of Hope, Peace, and Courage. Like Hazel, his appearance didn't change, but his mannerisms did. He was more graceful and stayed patient longer than most of the team. 

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Hey, y'all! I decided to post two chapters today.

So, thoughts? Feedback?