Chapter 6
Showdown
After Percy had calmed Grace from her oracle like fit, the rest of the weekend had been uneventful. Phil hadn't written down what she said, but Percy told him to do so the next time something happened. He halfheartedly agreed to, wondering if he could simply write down something while a teenage girl was having what looked to be a seizure. He hoped he never had to, but he was afraid the seizures would continue.
The boys went to class on Monday. It was mythology class, and Percy continued to act like he always did during mythology class: like a d-bag. He cracked jokes, insulted people, and wreaked general havoc. But this class was different.
On this day in particular, Kronos had brought in an ancient tablet upon which something was written. The class studied it, and they all began to present papers that they had written. When Annabeth got up to present, Percy of course did as much as he could to make it bad. But he put a finishing touch on his act: he made her knock the tablet over. Percy was not careful of hiding this. He figured no one suspected it.
Kronos had different ideas. The tablet had been one of the most priceless artifacts he had ever owned, and he could tell that Percy had moved Annabeth's hand for her. He stood up from his seat, pointed at Percy, and shouted, "Johanson. My office. After class."
"I didn't even do anything!" said Percy.
"After class, Perry," said Kronos. He slurred the name like it was disgusting filth.
Percy could only go to Kronos's room, but he sure wasn't happy about it.
"Why am I in trouble?" asked Percy. "I didn't do anything."
"That's bullshit," snapped Kronos. "And I've had enough of that. Everyday you come to class and continuously wreak havoc. Well, I've had enough. I'm done with your shenanigans. If you want to have fun, I'm fine with it, so long as it's not in my class."
"What did I do?" asked Percy angrily. "Sure, I may have made a few inappropriate comments now and then, and maybe made one too many jokes. That doesn't constitute your getting pissed at me. Perhaps simply a 'Johanson, shut up' would do."
Kronos glared at the boy. "Johanson. Yes, Perry Johanson. Are you so afraid of social interaction that you use that name? Are you that insecure, that far gone from the reality of this world?"
Percy looked at him. He could see the angry face on him, but he couldn't understand what he was saying. He was sure that something weird was going on though.
"What do you mean by 'that name'?" asked Percy suspiciously.
Kronos laughed. He laughed so long that it became creepy to Percy, and he backed away.
"Let's agree to something: Don't play dumb with me, and I won't play dumb with you," said Kronos.
"What do you want from me?" asked Percy.
"How hard is it," began Kronos, seething with rage, "to say that you're Percy Jackson? Would it kill you? Would your life be ruined? I think not, Percy. I'm no idiotic mythology buff. I can read you like a book."
"How do you know my name?" asked Percy coldly.
"If you don't want to be recognized, you have to make your name filter universal, Percy," said Kronos. "It doesn't matter how I know. What matters is that I know that you create havoc using magical powers in my class, and I don't like it. I just want to teach. So do me a favor: get over your immature problems, and be a man. Stop messing with my students. And I suggest that if you don't want to learn, get OUT of my school."
Percy stared. He had faced many dangerous situations in his life, but none had been like this. His opponent knew of his secrets, but seemingly didn't have any powers.
"If you know who I am, you should be afraid of me," said Percy.
"Why should I be afraid of a 16 year old boy who can't get over his girl problems?" asked Kronos. "Should I get you some cheese with that whine, or would you perhaps like me to massage your feet while listening to your first world problems? I suggest you grow up, Perseus Jackson, or else you'll be a failure, just like all the people you hate in life."
Percy was pissed off. He leapt at Kronos, who dodged him. He prepared to leap again, but stopped himself.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "Your name's not Crow."
"On the contrary," said Kronos. "Have you ever read the directory? It wouldn't take a genius."
Kronos walked to the chalkboard and wrote the following. Crow N. Os. He then turned to Jackson.
"Crow N. Os," said Kronos. "Pronounce it all at once, genius."
"Kronos!" said Percy in astonishment.
"It only took you 4 months," said Kronos. "I've put up with you long enough, Jackson. Get out of my school or learn. That is my proposition."
Percy balled his fists angrily. "I've beaten you once before. What's to stop me from beating you again?"
Kronos laughed. "You just don't get it, do you? You have the maturity level of a five year old at the moment. Would I be scared of a five year old? No. You won four months ago because I was in the wrong. I'll admit that. But now I'm defending what I love: this school, and the students whom I teach. You have no purpose, Perseus Jackson. You're just a trouble maker now."
At that, Percy signified he was going to fight Kronos. He held up a ball of fire and shot it at Kronos.
Kronos was agile and quick. He changed to his molten form and dimmed the fire as he held it in his hands. He jumped at Percy.
Percy tried to leap out of the way, but he was too slow. He instead took the blow, and he and Kronos grappled to gain control over each other. Percy began to push Kronos back. He began to send shocks of lightning up Kronos's arms. He suspected he had already won.
But Kronos had different ideas. He was angry, and he figured Percy needed to be taught a lesson. If he gave up then, he would be giving up on his students and his school. So he redoubled his efforts and flung Percy at the wall. The force of impact was so great that Percy was unable to move well. Kronos had beaten him.
Kronos stared at him. "I have beaten you in battle, and you know that. I didn't hurt you because you are my student, and are just a boy who needs to get his moral compass pointed straight. But beware; should you continue to make trouble again, I will throw you out of this school, as well as alerting the Olympians. And yes, I will take that chance. Are we clear?"
Percy nodded his head slowly. Deep down, he knew Kronos was right. He wasn't happy about it, but he resolved that he should. He saluted to Kronos to show he had won him over, and Kronos relaxed slightly. They both turned towards the door.
Annabeth stood in the doorway. She looked dumbstruck. She was holding in her hand a binder that read 'Calculus'.
Kronos straightened and scratched the back of his head. It looked strange, as in his mythological form, he was bald and made of molten lava. But he sighed anyways, and ushered to Annabeth.
"Yes, Ms. Chase?" he asked her.
"Uh… I kind of… needed some help with my math homework?" she asked more than said.
"Well, it's not gonna finish itself," said Kronos. "Sit in a chair and I'll help you out."
She slowly did as he had suggested, and as she did, Kronos ushered Percy out the door. He sat down at the desk and changed his form. He began to help her as if it was a normal day.
After they had finished, Kronos waved her out of the room. She stopped halfway to the door, though, and turned.
"Are you really Kronos?" asked Annabeth. She hesitated. "That's really a pretty bad question, isn't it?"
Kronos sighed. "Not necessarily. How much of the conversation did you hear?"
"Just the fight," she said.
Kronos pondered whether or not he should tell Annabeth about Percy. He decided not to for the sake of Percy's privacy. "Annabeth, you're a very smart girl. I think you know I am Kronos, but you don't want to admit it. And that's understandable."
Annabeth looked at him sadly. "Yeah, I suppose."
"I wasn't wrong to besiege Olympus, Annabeth, but I did it in the wrong way," he said. "Percy was much more efficient, and attacked the areas that needed to be changed. I… well, I attacked everything, whether good or bad."
"Why?" asked Annabeth. She didn't seem scared, or hurt, or anything. She seemed to trust him.
"That's personal, Annabeth," he said. "But someone, I don't know who, was toying with my emotions, and using me as a tool. An anonymous email was sent to me when I was mad at the Olympians. It read that an army had been prepared for me. Lost in my anger, I accepted. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong."
"Not to offend you, but wouldn't you just want to attack the gods for revenge?" asked Annabeth.
"No," said Kronos. "Note how I've never done so before the original time. After I was ousted from Olympus, I headed for the area Rome was in and started anew. Between then and the war, I had traveled gaining much knowledge. That's why I teach you French and Greek." He smiled.
"So, you're kind of like a walking Google translate?" asked Annabeth.
"Pretty much," said Kronos. "I wasn't one to wage war during that period. It was only when the gods were threatening someone I cared about that I chose to take action."
"Alright," said Annabeth. She hesitated, like she wanted to say more. Kronos knew what she was going to say, and he resolved to stop her from saying it.
"Go and study," said Kronos. "Read a book or something. Worry not about the mythological world. You are at peace for now, so long as you are at this school. Work it out to yourself when you feel like it."
To show that he meant business, Kronos left and headed for his room. Annabeth followed suit, headed towards her dorm.
Percy couldn't fall asleep that night. He felt like a fool. He had been unable to recognize Kronos, and for that he truly felt idiotic. He wondered if Kronos was to be his friend or enemy, and what happened to Annabeth. He sighed and rolled over.
Outside the window, green lights glowed in the distance. They moved at a surprisingly fast rate, and Percy wondered if they were airplanes. They were getting closer and closer with every second. He was curious now, and he opened the curtains.
Snow had begun to fall on the ground. The lights made the snow shine brightly, but Percy could still not make out what the lights were. He began to open the windows, and loud whirring sounds filled the air. He got up from his bed, put some clothes on and stood up. He woke the others, and Phil and Grace followed him as he looked out the window.
"I think that's Morse code," said Grace. She began to talk to herself. "Let's see… O… R… A... N...
Just then, a large blast came from out of the sky. It blew back the three of them, and they landed on the ground hard. Percy looked up.
It was a UFO. He didn't really believe it. He impulsively attacked it, and it retreated backwards. Extraterrestrial machinery or not, it was not going to take on Percy Jackson.
There were two accompanying crafts, which floated along with it, and they started firing at the building, but their blasts weren't as powerful. Students were running, but no one was hurt. Percy signaled to the others to follow him, and they ran in the direction he was running: Towards the UFO's.
