Chapter 4
The shield was propped up in front of them, reflective screen showing the inside of the United Nations building.
"I'm telling you, Jake," one of the demigods in the lobby of the United Nations hisses, "he was bleeding. The stake thing, it smashed straight through his armour. Metal armour. How is that even possible?"
"He doesn't bleed, Asshole. Shut up."
"Look, I saw the blood! It—"
"Shhh."
Perses enters the lobby from the outside, moving across the room quickly.
"Follow him," Annabeth orders the shield.
The screen zips after the Titan. Demigods and monsters skitter out of his way.
"Son of a bitch," Zeus growls when he sees a Greek statue in the corridor – he doesn't particularly care who it's of – and someone has sprayed graffiti over the metal.
Dean covers up his laugh with a cough. "Concentrate. Come on."
Lelantos lands beside him with a rush of wings. "You going to see the Boss?"
"Weren't you? You saw that out there. I understand why the half-breeds are whispering treachery."
"If only they knew that the Boss can hear their whispers from his little room," Lelantos says with a wry smile.
"Lelantos, be serious. If I didn't know the Boss as well as I did, I'd be contemplating treason."
"So it's bad. But he'll have a plan, he always does," Lelantos says. "This is a minor set-back."
"He lost the Achilles Curse and got stabbed in the heart. I'd say that's major, not minor, cousin."
"Not to Kronos."
They stop at the door to the General Assembly Hall. "Do we just go in?" Lelantos asks. "Would he be pissed at that?"
"Probably," a voice muses from behind them.
"Uncle Oceanus!" Perses greets eagerly.
"When did you leave the bottom feeders and come to join us?" Lelantos asks with a sly smile.
Oceanus' deep ocean blue eyes bore into Lelantos. "When I decided that Poseidon's Palace was destroyed enough. Now, out of my way, nephew."
Lelantos grumbles, but steps to the side. Oceanus opens the door, and they can clearly hear Hyperion from inside, yelling, "— have found you out! Don't you know what that means? It's our job to pr—" the door shuts behind Oceanus.
Dean shares a look with Sam. "That sounds promising. Shield, go through the door."
The shield goes through the door.
Kronos sits at the front of the General Assembly Hall, his feet up on the desk and Backbiter laid out before him.
Hyperion paces before him, anger etched onto his face. He pauses his tirade long enough for Oceans to speak. "Enough, Hyperion."
Hyperion's mouth clamps shut and he turns to glare at Oceanus. "Why are you not furious? Everything could have just been—"
"They are mortal Hunters. The chances of them finding out what Kronos is are very slim. That is why. Cease your useless tirade, Hyperion."
"But if they do find out—"
"If they find out," Kronos cuts in, "then there will be no reason for me to hold back anymore, Hyperion. Let's not forget what I can truly do."
That seems to pacify Hyperion.
"So what now?" Iapetus asks from where he's lounging across a row of tables, head resting on his arms.
"We continue as we have before," Oceanus states. "Kronos, keep your blade safe."
"I'm not a fool, Oceanus. I always keep it safe." He grimaces slightly as he straightens up. "Though it may be best if I sit the next one out."
"The stake," Koios mutters, scowling slightly at Kronos. "You can really be an idiot sometimes, little brother."
Kronos shoots his brother a glare. "Shut up."
"He has a point," Krios drawls. "You shouldn't have let those mortals get that close."
Kronos shrugs. "It was entertaining." He glances in the direction of Oceanus, and Dean's eyes widen.
"Are his eyes blue?"
"Eyes," Oceanus says sharply.
Kronos blinks. "Right." He waves a hand in front of his eyes, and they flicker back to gold.
"You're leaving little hints all over the place, you idiot," Koios hisses. "You know what will happen if word gets out. Demons will be over your ass faster than you can sneeze."
"Which is why I am sitting the next battle out. I'll recover and re-join you after I have healed from that horrible stake." Kronos sighs. "Oceanus, grab me some water?"
"Here we go," Dean murmurs.
The eldest Titan nods and flashes away, reappearing only a few seconds later with a glass of water in his hand. "You could have summoned it."
"I could have," Kronos agrees. "But that stake is pissing me off." He accepts the glass with a grimace before straightening up, tugging up the shirt until the still-seeping wound over his heart is visible. "Fucking Hunters," he growls. Kronos pauses before dropping the shirt back down, smoothing it with a sigh. Upon lifting the glass to his lips, he freezes and sniffs the water. A curse flies from his mouth. "Holy water." He shrugs and downs the glass.
"Another creature down," Iapetus laughs. "They're narrowing down the list."
Kronos waves his hand. "May as well let the little bastards in. We'll get started."
"Bastards," Krios echoes flatly. "That is offensive."
"That was the point, idiot. What's the point in helping if I get no entertainment value from it?" Kronos demands. He snaps his fingers, and the screen fizzles out on the shield.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaims.
"What?" Percy demands.
"He obviously knew we were watching," Sam says quietly. "He's playing with us."
"He might be," Dean growls out, "but now I've got an idea. We've crossed a lot of stuff off the list, Sammy."
Sam slowly nods. "Yeah… and I'm thinking… the hints he was dropping like all the time. The eye thing was a red-herring, the way he sniffed out that holy water."
"How Cas knows about him," Dean adds, realisation dawning in his eyes. "Well, we won't know until we try."
"Have we got enough holy oil in the Impala?" Sam asks.
"We should. Depends on how many circles we have to make."
"Holy oil?" Annabeth asks.
"It traps angels," Castiel states quietly. "Binds their powers."
"Angels?" Thalia demands. "You guys think Kronos is an angel?"
"Singing on fluffy clouds?" Percy asks in amusement.
"Angels are God's warriors," Castiel states. "His army. We do not sit on clouds and sing. In the Bible, do you not remember the night Angels slew all the firstborn?"
"Okay, so with that logic, maybe Kronos does fit the MO."
"Exactly. So how are we gonna do this, Dean?" Sam asks. "It's not like we can trap him in the middle of the street."
"There's a warehouse a few blocks from here," Percy says. "Would that work?"
"As long as it has a sprinkler system and a big open area, that'll work," Dean muses. "Sammy, you wanna grab the holy oil? I'll go check this place out. Set out markers. We can't mess this up."
"What if it doesn't work?" Percy asks.
"Then we have him inside a warehouse with no one who can get harmed as collateral damage," Sam says. "We kill him."
