The Betrayed Hero

Chapter 6

And then there was a flash of light.

And suddenly Percy was stumbling on the shore of the camp's beach. The sea was in rage, huge waves were carving the shore, and the wind was blowing in a frenzy. By now, mortals would have covered this whole situation as the big disaster that was about to hit.
But Percy just stood there, his thoughts running mile per minute while chanting 'run run run' again and again, but wherever he would go, the gods would find him anywhere. Making up his mind, with determination to run away and never return to the camp, he moved forward but frowned, reached his pocket, pulled out the pen, and uncapped it. The shimmering sword in all its glory, shining in pride for killing so many, came to life, but its owner glared at the sword. It brought back many memories, so many memories; it reminded him of his victory, of the quests with Annabeth and Grover, of the sad and happy moments they shared, but it also reminded him of their betrayal.
If he was going to run, he was going to leave all this behind; he was going to leave all these memories of killing all those monsters for 'them' and for 'their' glory, the betrayal, and he took a step forward and stabbed the sword in the sand and ordered the sword.
"Stay and return to anyone who steps into this camp and is worthy enough to wield you."
The thunder rumbled behind him, signalling that he just had a few minutes before he had to leave camp. The earth shook, causing him to lose his balance, but he ran. Percy ran inside the armoury, looking for a sword to help him combat the monsters he'd come across on his run. None of them were as good as Riptide, but he eventually found one that felt nice in his hands. Percy bolted from the armoury, heading for Thalia's pine tree, where the dragon was guarding the fleece. A portal opened just as Percy walked out of the border, and a man emerged.

The man was dressed in a Midnight Navy suit that appeared to cost more than his mother's apartment. He had black hair and eyes like Piper's, but instead of changing colours, they swirled into various stars, constellations, galaxies, planets, and so on. Percy had a good idea of who the guy was, but just to be sure, he asked,

"Who are you?"

"I know, you know, who I am, but anyway, I'm Chaos."

Percy did not know how to respond, so he just stared at him blankly. The Creator was in front of him; for ordinary people, it would have been like meeting the Queen of England, but for him, it was the Creator of the World.

Not knowing what to say, Percy bowed awkwardly to God. Chaos simply laughed at him.

"It's okay, Perseus; there's no need to bow down to me. But I have an offer to make."

Percy narrowed his eyes; he did not believe in any kind of offer, especially not after being a part of two prophecies and being lured to work for them.

"What is this offer?"

"I've seen you fight Perseus; you have great skills. I would like to give you a position in my army."

"What position?"

"Commander of the Chaos Army and My Assassin"

Percy's eyes widened at that, but he quickly composed his features and tightened his grip on the sword. "How do I know that you are the good guy?"

Chaos cracked a smile because he knew Percy would be the right choice, and his question just confirmed it. "I'm the Creator; it would be painful if I decided to play the bad guy to see everything fall." Percy looked sheepish, asking that question.

It had begun to rain, and the thunder was growing louder. The earth was trembling, and the earth shaker was letting go of his suppressed rage and frustration in addition to trying to buy his kid some extra time.

They were shouting at each other now, so they could hear each other clearly.

"I don't think you have much time left to run from here. So, what do you think? Do you want to join the army?" Chaos asked. Percy thought about asking how he knew about him being on the run but thought against it, thinking about it being some of the powers of the creator to know about everything.
Percy sighed but answered, "Okay." Chaos smiled wide and clapped his hands, creating a portal. Just like earlier,

"Let's go".

"Wait!" Percy shouted louder than necessary. "Can we visit someone before we leave?" Chaos nodded.

"My mom's apartment," Percy asked hesitantly.

Chaos smiled mischievously, his eyes shining brightly. Chaos clapped his hands, opened another portal, and stepped within it. "Let's go then to Sally Jackson's apartment," he said. Though hesitant, Percy went with him.
It was completely dark inside the gateway, filled with many stars, galaxies, etc. It was pleasant, but Percy began to drop the very next instant after feeling a tug. He was still falling, feeling like he needed to throw up, and something was smacking him across the face with the wind or whatever was within this dark, unsettling mass.

Percy stumbled in front of Jackson's apartment door. He stood there, trying to catch his breath and collect himself after that fall. Percy turned towards Chaos and scowled at him. "That was the worst ride I've been on." Chaos stifled a laugh and said, "You'll get used to it." Percy sighed and turned to knock on the door. After a moment of waiting, the door swung open.
There on the door stood Sally Jackson.

"Hey mom!" Percy said that and smiled for the first time. Sally's eyes widened in surprise to see her son home so early, but she smiled and hugged him tight, while Percy tried not to cry in his mother's embrace. Sally pulled out of the hug and let him into their living room, totally ignoring the other man, just as they entered the living room. Paul came out of the kitchen and asked, "Who was at the door, Sally? Percy!"
"Hey Paul!"
"Is that?" Paul asked, pointing at Chaos, while Sally still ignored him and stared at Percy as if sensing something was wrong with him.
"That's chaos," Percy answered, ignoring his mother's staring.
Paul sputtered, "Chaos! As in Chaos, Chaos, like the Creator of the world, Chaos!" (It was the same reaction when they told him about when Poseidon paid them a visit.) The Creator chuckled at the reaction and said, "Yes, Chaos." Paul looked embarrassed, and Sally looked surprised, but Sally quickly shifted her attention towards her son and asked, "What happened, Percy?" But before Percy could even answer, Chaos interrupted them and said, "You need to hurry up, Perseus; they are close; your father can't hold them anymore," and it was true that the weather outside was picking up; they needed to hurry.
Sally looked worried, and Percy launched into the story. By the time he was finished, Sally was angry, crying, and hugging Percy, while Paul was looking at him worriedly.
"We need to leave right now," Chaos said. Percy just nodded, gave one last hug to Sally, and nodded at Paul.
"Take care, mom, and you too, Paul, and look out for each other."
"You too," they said in unison.
"I'll need to wipe your scent, so no one can trace you here." They all nodded, and Chaos opened the portal.
With one last look, Percy stepped into the portal with Chaos, and once again he was falling.