Blackmail Is The Worst, And Very Embarrassing

We had just come back from saving another planet. It was a creepy one. Green, yellow, brown, all sorts of different colored slime hung from the moldy trees. The creatures that inhabited it lived in their own filth. Why anyone would want to take over the place was beyond me, but I just had to save it. I didn't really care too much about who was destroying it.

Anyway, we were back in the lounge, fooling around as usual. I felt a lot better now that Blackjack was back. It had now been 3 Earth years, 18 Chaos years, since I had left.

It would come in handy if we ever went back to Earth and I had to deny being Percy. Chaos years can be awesome, yet confusing.

Of course, I hoped I'd never have to go back. I know it's terrible of me to not keep my promise and keep in touch with Grover and Chiron, but I honestly couldn't care less.

Chaos appeared. "Percy, I am sorry but you have a new mission. You all do. And you may not like it."

That caught my attention. What planet could be so bad?

"Well Percy, I'm glad you asked." I glared at him.

Mind reading=not cool!

"Sorry. But what I was saying, it's Earth. Earth needs your help."

Speak of the devil. I shouldn't have thought about it.

~

"Please! Anywhere else! You said I'd never have to go back there." The itchy rug on the floor dug into my knees. Chaos had brought me into his office to keep the conversation a bit more private. "Please send me anywhere other than Earth!"

"I'm sorry, Percy. They need you. Remember what you told me after you killed Pontus? That Tartarus was rising, and not alone?"

I nodded.

"It was true. And those demigods cannot handle it themselves. You know that the Gods cannot directly interfere. That's why they need you. The whole team." Chaos informed me.

I tried everything I could. I screamed, kicked, yelled, tried everything to change his mind.

Finally, Chaos couldn't take it. "HEY!" I froze. As in the he-froze-my-muscles-and-now-I-can't-move froze. "You will go and that is final."

"But--"

"No buts! Ah, sweet blackmail. Do you remember the incident with Blackjack?" Chaos smiled evilly.

My faced paled and I felt it heat up. "I really hate you sometimes." I huffed in annoyance while Chaos cheered, knowing he had won.

"Now go tell the rest of the team the situation. We will leave tomorrow. We will be meeting with the Olympians first. I will stay there to make sure you settle in and Percy, I wouldn't mind if you humiliated them while I was there." Chaos hinted.

I smiled. I liked the way he thought. "Okay. I'll go tell the team." He unfroze me and I left his office, headed back to the lounge. Once there, I told the team what was happening on Earth. "We'll leave tomorrow, and I'm planning on getting them to challenge me to a fight. Who wants to see their butts whooped?"

Every hand went up. "It'll be funny."

From then on we plotted exactly how our meeting with the Gods would go, and how I would humiliate each one.

It would be a day to remember.

Hey boss, heard we're going to Earth. You gonna be okay? Blackjack appeared at my side when I left the lounge to go to my room.

"Yeah. I didn't want to at first. Chaos used blackmail."

Ouch.

I grinned. "But we are going to see the Olympians tomorrow. Feel like helping me freak them out and humiliate them?"

Boss, count me in.

"This is gonna be so much fun. I can't wait to see their faces. They probably still won't remember me, so it'll be even funnier when they get beaten by someone they don't know." I walked into my room.

See you tomorrow, boss. Blackjack nickered and trotted away.

My bed creaked and molded to fit my body. I dug around in the backpack that I had taken with me when I left and pulled out a golden drachma. It shined and glimmered as it twirled around in my hands.

After some thought, I flashed outside and manipulated the air to create a rainbow. There were some friends that I needed to talk to.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow. Please accept my offering." I chanted and threw the drachma into the rainbow, where it dissolved.

"Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."

The rainbow shimmered and a centaur's worn face came into focus. I smiled. "Hey, Chiron. Long time no see."

"Percy! Where have you been? How are you? Where are you? What have you been doing? Why haven't you contacted us?" Chiron asked me many questions at once.

"Calm down! I will answer all of your questions later. I just wanted to give you a heads up. Apparently Tartarus is rising and he's not alone. Chaos is sending us to help."

"Who is us? And what do you mean he is rising?" He looked worried now.

"The rest of the team. And just that. I found Pontus and got rid of him, becoming the new Primordial of the Sea, etc, etc. That's not important right now. But when he died he said that Tartarus was rising. Obviously he'll want to take control from the Gods. So, Chaos is sending us to help. We will be meeting the Gods tomorrow, and they'll probably send us here. So, heads up, don't kill us. Well, try." Before Chiron could question me more, I waved my hand through the mist and his face faded away.

Next person. I repeated the process until I saw his face. "Hey Grover." My voice quivered. I had missed him a lot more than I thought.

"Perrrrrcy! Where are you! Why do you keep pushing me away?" He asked and then added the same questions that Chiron had asked.

"Look, I'll tell you later. Just wanted to give you a heads up. We're coming to Earth tomorrow. Tartarus is rising and Chaos is sending us to help. I'll tell you more tomorrow."

"Okay." He grinned. "But Percy, when you get here. We are having a dam serious talk."

I cracked a smile. "We sure will." He swiped his hand through the mist and disappeared.

I sighed. It was painful to see their faces, even though he had been one of the two people who had remembered me. It was painful to see Camp in the background. Everything I had loved, but had been ruined.

A hand touched my shoulder. "You did the right thing. I know it must've been hard for you to see Camp, but it was good for you to do. Even if it was just through an IM." Silena looked me in the eyes and smiled. She kissed my cheek and walked off. "You'll be fine." She called over her shoulder.

Yeah, I hope so.