The Remembrance of Chaos (PJO)

Chapter 2

Percy's brain caught up to his body. He backed out of the forced embrace. "Commander?"

"Yes," End affirmed. "You are the commander of my army."

"Even if my memory is wiped, I still have the feeling that I'm not a commander," Percy said skeptically.

End forced a laugh. "That's ridiculous," She said. "You have been my immortal commander—partially immortal commander, that is—for hundreds of years."

"How did I get injured in the battle?" Percy asked; he was looking for more details.

End took a moment to pause, as though she was making up the details. "We went to Planet Chaos . . ."

Chaos. That name sounded familiar, like home. Percy got confused why his emotions were reacting to an inanimate name, but decided to follow his heart, and learn more about this person.

" . . .And you sacrificed yourself to save my full army, and instead of dying, you made the spell erase your memories, effectively creating you into a 'new' person. Pretty creative, I have to admit. That's why all the soldiers are staring at you in awe," She finished.

Percy had to admit the full explanation was very believable, but the last line gave it away.

Looking at me in awe? I don't think most people did . . . , Percy thought suspiciously.

He decided to ask a nagging question, "Who is Chaos?"

If End was worried about this question, she didn't show it. But, he could see intense surprise on her face. In theory, she presumably thought he wouldn't ask about him, since she only said his name once or twice.

End's face suddenly turned to one of anger. Percy didn't know if it was at him, or at Chaos. "He is the Creator of the universe, and my annoying brother," She spat out. "He is arrogant, selfish, and cruel."

Percy immediately felt like defending Chaos, but controlled the strange emotion again. He felt a pang in his chest when End had started insulting him, and got angry. Once again, he had pushed the emotions away from his head, instead, stored them in his heart for future use. Percy didn't know what was happening whenever she mentioned Chaos' name, but he understood one thing; he was very dear to Percy, and, if Percy could get to him, Chaos could clear his doubts.

Percy then decrypted what End had said.

He's the Creator of the universe?! He could easily help me, Percy thought excitedly. Now, the hard part was to learn where he was. Percy decided to change the subject, and ask again on another day, since End was very angry.

"If you don't mind," Percy said. "Can you lead me back to my room? I'm feeling awfully fatigued."  And he was. Even though the sun was still up, he felt like sleeping.

Probably just a side-affect of the memory wipe, Percy assured himself.

End's mood shifted once again, and she put a concerned frown on her face, which was nothing more than a false charade. "Of course, let me lead you." She stepped off the dais and began walking to the entrance of the room.

Once they were out, End began leading him through the mind boggling twists and turns of the castle. "Shouldn't you have put signs with directions at various intervals?" Percy asked. "In case somebody gets lost?"

"Why would we need them?" End asked. "They can just ask somebody for directions."

"Fair enough." He felt silent as they maneuvered through more hallways, stairs, and rooms. All the stairs twisted right while ascending, allowing right-handed defenders to just show their sword arm, not their full body, giving them an advantage in a fight.

The castle was beautiful; all the walls were a magnificent marble white, while the floors were cushioned with lush, thick carpets.

They finally arrived at an empty hallway. "Ah . . . here we are," End said, stopping at a specific door at the right, with the number "1". Percy had an uncanny feeling he didn't exit out of that room, which had a colorful tapestry depicting what looked like the rising sun. In fact, he distinctly remembered coming from the left side. Ergo, he was cautious going into it, letting End enter first to make sure.

"Here's your room," She said. "I do not wish to disturb you any longer, have a good rest." She quickly started walking back out, as though she wasn't telling him something. Percy gave a cursory glance around the room, and immediately understood it wasn't his room; it was at least twice the size of his, and all the furniture was different, while the walls were a startling bright white.

"Wait," He called out to End before she could exit the room. She froze in place and slowly turned around. "This isn't my room."

"Yes it is," End insisted.

"The walls are white, while mine were an aqua shade," Percy pointed out.

End gave him a sheepish smile, exactly like a child when they got caught taking a cookie from the cookie jar. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. This is my room, yours is on the on the opposite side," She said, pointing to the door that was parallel and in front of hers. It had a little plaque that read "2".

If Percy had been drinking something, he would've spit it out in shock. "This is your room?!" He exclaimed. "Why on Earth did you try to make me sleep in your room?"

End gave him a look that said, You know why.

And Percy did know why, all thanks to what had happened when he first met her. He faked a yawn, "I'll see you tomorrow," He treaded carefully, trying to end the conversation on a good note. 

End nodded her head at him cheerfully. Percy exited the room without another word. He went to his assigned room and opened the door, immediately plopping on the bed with a sigh.

What a day, He thought, correcting himself almost immediately. Not even a day, only two hours.

Percy's mind was crowded with questions, stopping him from sleeping. But, eventually, the comfiness of the bed and the extreme fatigue overpowered him in one big wave, and he succumbed to the comfortable darkness.

Instead of waking up again the next day immediately, he was sent to a dark plateau, the sky, the floor, everything just nothingness. An invisible floor held him aloft.

Where am I? Percy wondered. He looked in all directions with wonder; it was obviously a figment of his imagination. He caught sight of a human silhouette, back facing away from Percy. The being had an aura that made End's look pathetic. Percy silently stood still, ruminating. Should the approach the figure, or keep his distance?

Percy felt a connection to the figure, and decided to approach.

Curiosity killed the cat, he thought. Ignoring his inner turmoil, he trudged forward, the connection giving him the surety and confidence he needed.

As he drew close enough to see the figure as a well-built man, the person tensed, as if he knew Percy was approaching. He then turned around, and Percy's breath caught. The man was uncannily familiar, and very handsome. He had a sculpted face, with black eyes full of longing, and brown hair. He was a perfect example of handsomeness and beauty.

When his eyes fell on Percy, though, his eyes lit up with unspeakable joy. Percy's heart rate quickened at being at the center of attention of the otherworldly man. Quicker than he could blink, the man had enveloped Percy in an embrace.

Unlike with End's embrace, this one felt comfortable, amazing, and very right. The mystery man's aura also trapped him, but in a nice and protective way, promising to never let go. Even if it hadn't, Percy's body and mind had surrendered to him, and clung on to him automatically. An emotion stirred in Percy, the same mysterious emotion he felt connected to Chaos's name, only now, he understood what it was:

Love.