Second Chance (Percy Jackson Chaos Theory Fanfic)

The Army

It has come to my attention that some of you may be confused with the double names in the Army. You may think there are twice as many as mentioned because as I've said before, each member of the Army has two names. I thought I'd list each member's two names for you all (NO! I'm not telling you who they are yet. The only one you know is Silena.). Hehe.

Alpha or Iroas (meaning Hero).
Beta or Pisti (meaning Loyalty).
Gamma or Thysia (meaning Sacrifice).
Delta or Stratiotis (meaning Soldier).
Epsilon or Gennaíos (meaning Brave).
Iota or Astéri (meaning Star).
Kappa or Dótis (meaning Giver).
Lambda or Chrysómallo Déras (meaning Golden Fleece).
Omicron or Fidi (meaning Snake).
Sigma or Tharraléos (meaning Courageous).
Tau or Foniás (meaning Slayer).
Rho or Fratris (meaning Brother).
Xi or Statera (meaning Balance).

And that's all of them! Feel free to guess who is who!
Now let's get to the story!!

Percy POV

Bryson was a great guy. After spending nearly three days with him, I had the opinion that he was just like me. Dad must have made another good choice in marriage. The only thing that confused me was who his mother was. Bryson was my age, and his birthday was only three months after mine to the day. That meant that Poseidon hadn't loved just my mother at the time. It made me feel a bit down. Perhaps the Army could cheer me up like they always did.

I entered the Big House, where dear old Chiron had allowed us to stay. At night he had promised total privacy, and so far he had held through with that promise. That was good. The Army took their masks off at night. If anyone saw us, they'd know who we were.

The door shut quietly as I closed the Big House door. The Army was taking its major break for the day, and all had gathered in the rec room with some of the campers.

Alpha stood and saluted. "Ah, your royal Meganess," he teased, offering me the chair beside him. I took it. "Come to join the party?"

I stuck out my tongue at him. "What party? The only parties you guys throw are boring ones."

Travis Stoll, who was in the room, laughed. "Wow, burn you guys. Your Commander is awesome."

"That he is," Kappa murmured. She smiled at me. "None of us could ask for anyone better."

Boy, Kappa sure knew how to make a speech out of a sentence. She was known as the diplomat of the Army. She was good at reasoning and peacemaking, as well as caring and giving. Her role in the Army was one of the most important.

Astéri spoke up. "I'm sure none of us could ask for a better family than the Army. Together, we could conquer the world."

"If only," Statera muttered. "Unfortunately, we have a bigger problem than conquering the world."

Thysia glanced at his friend. "Void may be a bigger problem, but I believe that if we all work as one, we can get through this."

"Yes," Fidi agreed. He of all the Army was the one I most respected. It wasn't that he was different, he was just more... well, he was my hero. "Love is what holds a family together. Love will hold us together. After all, it's not for anything that saying 'Love conquers all' was made."

"Perhaps," Statera acknowledged, "but this is going to be the hardest battle we've ever fought, and we've fought many hard battles before."

Sigma leaned forward in his chair. His bluish-green eyes had a glint in them that caused people to automatically think before they spoke. "It's not a matter of how hard the battle is, Statera. It's a matter of how hard we fight. If we don't fight as best we can, then we've already lost."

"Smart as usual," Gennaíos sighed in mock envy. "You use such meaningful words of wisdom."

Foniás chuckled. "Words of wisdom aren't so much what matter. It's the action that one takes after hearing the words of wisdom that matters."

Gennaíos face-palmed himself. "I've heard so many words of wisdom from you two that it's impossible to take action for all of them."

"Then take actions for the ones you remember," Delta advised.

"Oh, not you too!" Gennaíos groaned. "Get me out of here! I'm being swamped with wisdom!"

Connor and the rest of the group laughed. "Man, I had no idea you people from the Army could be so fun," Connor commented.

"What, did you honestly think we were aliens?" I asked.

"Duh!" Travis answered for his brother.

Of course they would have thought that.

"Yeah," Connor agreed. "It's not just anyone who falls from the sky and scares the camp half to death."

"Then let us assure you here and now," Alpha spoke up, "that we are not aliens. All of us were once a human from Earth, some time in the past."

Travis let out a breath. "That's a relief. Now I feel more secure."

Beta, or the current Sylvia, snorted. "You must be more stupid than I thought." Her gray eyes were full of mirth.

Connor crossed his arms. "Oh, yeah? Calling us stupid. Hmph."

Sylvia leaned forward. "Why would we be sent here to protect you if we were going to kill you? That's not exactly protecting you."

"Not unless the only way to protect them is to kill them," Fidi said, only partially teasing.

Travis frowned. "That so makes me feel better."

"It does?!" Sigma exclaimed, obviously teasing the Stolls. "How nice."

Travis crossed his eyes. "Whatever."

Dótis rose from her chair and stepped over to me. "Hey, Omega. How are you?"

I smiled at her care. She was famous for it in the Army. Whenever someone was away for more than twenty-four hours, she always asked that question. "I'm fine, thanks for asking, Kappa."

"And how is Bryson? I've heard that he's pretty nice."

"He is. I've been talking with him for a while, and he seems very nice. He told me everything that happened, and I know we were right in giving him a second chance. He's actually had a rough life."

"And Poseidon is really his father?" she asked. She alone seemed to doubt that fact.

I nodded. "It seems so. Considering that Poseidon still claims him and there have been no arguments, it makes sense that Poseidon is his father. I wouldn't mind having him for a brother anyway, now that I know what he's really like."

Dótis smiled. "When will we be able to meet him?"

"They say tomorrow," Asterí replied, coming up behind Kappa. "I am very much looking forward to seeing our newest member."

"So am I," Lambda agreed. "After five years, it will be nice to have a fresh personality among us."

My lips creased into a smile. "Do you guys mind another me?"

Asterí frowned. "Why are you asking?"

"Because Bryson is a lot like me," I replied. "He makes tons of corny jokes."

"Oh, boy." Kappa let a puff of air escape her. "This should be rather fun."

I smiled at my friends. "Whatever does happen with Bryson, I know you'll accept him. You're the Army, after all."