Truth Becomes Legend

Chapter II

"Kitos, you coming?"

"Yes, Thys. Not all of us are superpackers like you."

Thysia glanced over to Anikitos. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and was carrying a black duffel. Thysia raised an eyebrow to his friend. "I'm assuming this is a long-term mission," he said in response.

"I'm planning on making it as short as possible. I don't want to be on Earth any longer than necessary," the commander mumbled.

"Come on, Thys. That happened 500 years ago. Can't you forgive them? Holding grudges is a Hades thing," Anikitos begged his friend. He knew almost immediately that wasn't the right thing to say if the clenching of Thysia's fists signaled anything.

"I know full well how long ago it was, Anikitos. I can't forgive. Not after what happened... Besides, have you forgiven your dad yet? He trailed off, unclenching his fists and allowing Anikitos to relax slightly.

"You know she couldn't have done anything about it. Besides, I doubt we'll see her on this mission. Five centuries is a hard blow on a mortal," Anikitos pointed out, ignoring his commander's jab.

What if she wasn't a mortal anymore? Thysia thought, before knocking it aside. He would have to deal with that later. What's done is done and there's no going back. "Come on. Chaos is already in the throne room. We should get there before Zeus throws a fit."

Placing his hand on Anikitos' shoulder, Thysia imagined them dissolving into water and speeding through space to Olympus.

Materializing in the Olympian Throne Room, Thysia quickly glanced around assessing the situation; a habit he had picked up after his mission to Earth 150 years ago. The Olympian Council was seated in their respective thrones, with Hestia tending to the fire and Hades sitting to the side. A flare of burning rage rose up in Thysia's chest at the sight.

Upon seeing Chaos, Thysia and Anikitos dropped onto one knee. Chaos glared, but for the sake of image didn't comment on the antics of his soldiers. "My lord, I left Kynigos in charge of the army."

"Thank you, Thysia." Chaos turned to the Olympians. "This is my commander Thysia, and his second-in-command, Anikitos."

The Olympians nodded numbly not fully processing. "We are here to aid you in the rising, as I'm sure my lord Chaos has already informed you of-" Thysia's explanation was interrupted by Athena.

"Why do you wear hoods?" The goddess looked momentarily panicked before regaining her composure.

"We have made many enemies throughout the universe and it is safest for the people around us as well as ourselves if our identities are kept secret," Anikitos answered. Athena nodded in understanding but still looked wary. Thysia completely understood. How could you trust someone with your entire existence if they couldn't tell you something as simple as who they were? Thysia sent a quick glance to Chaos, who, thankfully, understood what he was asking and gave a small nod.

"I, Thysia, commander of the army of Chaos, swear by the name of the Creator that my squad and I will aid the Olympians of planet Earth against the Primordials. I do hereby swear that no member of my squad shall betray you unless you become a threat to the mortals of this planet. I, Thysia, do swear to these terms by Chaos' name and if they are broken by myself or my squad, my soul shall fade."

The Olympians sat shell-shocked. As far as they knew, you couldn't swear on Chaos' name. No one had ever tried, or thought about trying for that matter.

"Where will we be staying?" Anikitos inquired.

"Would Camp Half-Blood be okay? It's where our children stay." At Thysia's nod, Athena continued. "It's still undergoing repairs after the Giant War five years ago."

Thysia promptly started to choke on air. Five years? It had most definitely been 500. Glaring accusingly at Chaos, the waves of rage rolling off the commander bounced off the walls. "I might've forgotten to mention on tiny thing," Chaos looked a bit guilty. "Time moves differently in to keno."

Thysia and Anikitos were walking to Camp Half-Blood due to the fact that Chaos had left Earth and no one wanted to teleport with Thysia when he was angry. It only took one occasion of someone evaporating to learn that.

Thysia kicked a rock on the road in anger. "I'm going to kill Chaos one day," he muttered.

Anikitos put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sure he just forgot to mention it." Although, he wasn't too sure about that himself. "Besides, Thys, you aren't going to be able to hold a grudge against the campers forever. We're going to have to work with them on this mission, so we kind of have to find a way to put our bitterness aside."

Thysia stayed facing forward but slowed his pace. "So philosophical," he sighed. "I don't have a grudge against the campers. What I do have a grudge against is the fact that it happened so easily. How the gods made the entire thing happen so easily..." he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts. Anikitos froze slightly in shock before jogging to catch up with his commander. Thysia hadn't come this close to talking about what brought him to Chaos in 500 years. Well, he supposed that is was really only five. It was all so weird.

"Come on" Thysia said. "We're almost there. Stay on your guard, they're going to view us as a threat. I highly doubt the gods told them about us coming."

Anikitos snorted. Of course they wouldn't, they were gods. As much as mortals didn't want to ask for help, gods were ten times worse. The soldiers of Chaos traced the path they had taken so many times, this time side-by-side. Reaching the top of the hill, he glanced over at Thysia. To be honest, he was worried about the commander. He might not have shown it, but what happened had affected him more than he'd ever like to admit.

"If you had told me seven years ago that I would walking up Half-Blood Hill next to my enemy as commander of the strongest army in the universe, I wouldn't believe a word you were saying," Thysia muttered. Anikitos nodded in agreement. They had been something like enemies, hadn't they? He had never thought of it like that.

Anikitos saw a flash of bronze out of the corner of his eye, but before he could draw his sword, Thysia's hand was held up in a stopping motion and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't move a muscle.

"Demigods of Camp Half-Blood," Thysia spoke. His voice was now the authoritative tone he used when commanding his soldiers in battle, not the nostalgic tone he had spoken with only moments before. "We will not harm you. Our Lord Chaos sent us; we have already spoken with your parents on the matter. I am Thysia, commander of the army of Chaos and this is my second-in-command, Anikitos. We are here to offer you our aid against the Primordials."

Thysia's hand moved back to his side and Anikitos could move again. He quickly moved to stand beside his commander and deliberately made a point of moving his hand away from the handle of his sword. No need to appear more threatening than they already were.

The shadows of seven figures broke across the hill, and the group came into full view of Thysia's and Anikitos' vision.

The seven demigods stepped up in front of the soldiers of Chaos, donned in full battle armour and each equipped with various weapons. Two boys stepped forward: a tall, tan blonde that looked about twenty or twenty-one and a shorter dark-haired boy that looked around eighteen or nineteen. The blonde took a step in the dark-haired boy who glared at his back. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Jason Grace, son of Zeus, and this is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. We're the leaders of Camp Half-Blood, and part of the Prophecy of Seven."

Anikitos looked over to his commander with a confused look. "I thought you had said Jason Grace was a son of Jupiter? What exactly happened when you left?"

"I don't know," Thysia answered confused. "But I get the feeling we're going to find out pretty soon."