Ch. 12

Out of all the rides Percy has ever had, this one was probably the worst. He faded in and out of consciousness multiple times, never staying awake for long. All Percy could remember was the severe shaking of the helicopter and the blanket they laid Percy on. It was old and warn through, not much better than the metal flooring. The blanked reeked of sweat and another odor that Percy rather not think about. Suddenly, the helicopter decreased in altitude before landing on the ground with a thud. The landing jolted his wound and a fresh wave of searing pain coursed through him. It felt like someone was pressing a hot iron to his shoulder, and he knew what that felt like courtesy of Athena. As the rotors slowed, the doors were opened and Percy was lifted up by his shoulders and his ankles. When gloved hands wove their way under his armpits and grasped his shoulders, Percy hissed, the wound pulsing angrily.

"Watch it!" Percy hissed at the masked man. When there was no response, Percy just rolled his eyes.

They carried him up what looked like a mountain, and through what looked like a half completed castle. There were walls only waist high, ceiling-less rooms and stairways that would lead to nothing. Massive cracks and craters were sprawled throughout the dark marble. The now chatty cyclops had nothing to say, the entourage was completely silent, the only sound coming from their footsteps echoing off the marble floor. The sun was setting, casting twisted shadows sprawling across the dark marble.

They entered what looked like a throne room. Piles of rubble that Percy guessed were thrones lined the room, not unlike the cabins at camp. In the center of the room was what looked like a tornado pressing against the floor. The only thing stopping the massive typhoon of wind was a bulking man that was hunched over on his knees, his hands pressed above his head. The way his hands were placed made it seem like he was holding the tornado. Beads of sweat ran down his dirty face. Percy was placed on the ground less than gently, causing him to gasp in pain. This disturbance caused the man in front of Percy to snap his head up. Volcanic eyes gazed at Percy imploringly.

"Is this the one who is supposed to replace my spot holding the sky?" The man said gruffly, one of his eye brows rising, "He doesn't look like much."

Percy felt anger rise up in the pit of his stomach, but didn't have the energy to make a retort. It turns out he didn't need to as a voice floated from behind Percy.

"No Atlas, he is not your replacement, but if he is who we believe he is, he will be vital to our plan." The voice said. It got closer, but was still behind Percy. His wound was throbbing and Percy didn't want to disturb it again.

"Who is he?" Atlas asked.

"Your fatigue must be clouding your vison Atlas, he is almost a complete replica of his father." The voice teased.

"You don't mean…" Atlas trailed off as his eyes filled with recognition.

"Oh, I do mean it. He is the son of our Lord, our king, our saviour." The voice praised.

Percy's head was spinning, from blood loss or the situation he was in, Percy wasn't sure.

"Who is my father?" Percy asked, his voice sounding much steadier than he felt. The voice finally came into Percy's view. The voice belonged to a man. He was tall, very tall. Muscle was tightly packed onto his massive frame. He was huge, but not as bulky as the man holding the sky. His dark black hair waved in the light breeze. His cold blue eyes glowed in the fading light. His face was tan and defined. His features looked like they were carved out of stone. A smirk was plastered on his face, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. They shone with a malicious excitement. The man unsettled Percy, he seemed, somewhat insane.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, that and he just called for you, so, chop chop." The man said, the insane smile never leaving his face.

"You, you're Krios aren't you?" Percy asked as he struggled to stand, pointedly ignoring Krios' outstretched hand. Krios laughed at Percy's actions.

"I see you've got some fire in you." Krios said, the same creepy smile adoring his lips, "And yes, to answer your question, I am Krios. I see that silly Athena has taught you well."

Percy's retort caught in his throat. Krios, seeing Percy reaction, threw his head back and laughed, loud and hard. It seemed forced and quite fake. It seemed to shake the entire castle and it echoes down the winding halls and cracked floors.

"Oh, don't be so surprised. Of course we would keep tabs on you. You are after all very important to us, we can't have to be dying on us, now could we?" Krios said once he finished laughing.

"But enough of that, we're already late, let's go." Krios said as he spun on his heels and began to walk away.

Percy struggled to match the titan's long and fast strides, and his throbbing bullet wound definitely wasn't helping. He knew voicing the matter would not help him, so Percy bit his tongue. The castle didn't seem to be partly destroyed, no that wasn't the cause of the missing structures. There was no rubble, no signs of destruction. Instead, it almost seemed to be building itself, but at a slow rate. Percy would see bricks slowly appearing to form walls and pillars. The castle seemed to be alive, with its winding hallways and twisting staircases.

They arrived at a set of black, wooden double doors. Golden engravings were sprawled across the doors. It seemed to tell a story. Percy was too busy staring at the doors to notice the presence of another person.

"Is this him?" Percy whirled around to see another man leaning casually on a nearby pillar. He was tall, slightly taller than Krios. He had light golden blonde hair, and flaming gold eyes. They were not like the liquid gold color that Percy had, the color was slightly orange, like the sun. His lean frame was tightly packed with muscles, but he was defiantly slimmer than Krios. Percy recognized him as Hyperion.

Hyperion and Krios started conversing in Ancient Greek. It was different kind than the one Percy had learned with Athena. The language they were speaking sounded much older than the Greek that Percy had learned. They spoke back and forth for a few moments, each speaking very quickly. It sounded like a heated debate, but ultimately it appeared that Krios had won the argument, judging from the way Hyperion stormed off.

"Oh, don't mind him, he's just a little hot headed." Krios said, immediately followed by a tremendous laugh from him. Percy nervously laughed along with the insane titan, not wanting to invoke his anger.

"Oh goodness me! Look at the time, we've kept the boss man waiting long enough, you know after all how he is about arriving on time!" Krios said, barely managing to finish his awful joke without erupting into a fit of giggles. Percy didn't really understand that last joke. If this truly was the titan stronghold, than the only being with any relations with time would be Kronos, but he was chopped into millions of pieces with no hope of reformation. Percy walked inside before he was tormented by more of Krios' awful puns.

Percy took one step into the room and already wanted to leave. The room was dark, very dark. The only light in the room coming from torches placed around the room. The fires though seemed to be surrounded by shadows. The light being suffocated by the darkness. This was the first room in the castle that Percy had seen with a full ceiling. There was no furniture in the room and no windows. The air in the room was thick with power, making it hard to breathe. The only item in the room was a golden sarcophagus. Shadows seemed to dance along its edges as the room suddenly got about 20 degrees colder. Percy struggled to walk towards it, his instincts telling him to run as far away as possible. He heard Krios' footsteps next to him. From the sound, it seemed that the sarcophagus was having the same effect on him.

A voice suddenly roared out of the sarcophagus.

"Kneel before your King!" The voice wasn't raised, but it demanded respect. It was scratchy and rough. It sounded like rocks being mashed together, or fingers on a chalk board. The sound was hard to explain, but it was unpleasant. Percy recognized it as the voice that spoke to him in his dream months before, the one that claimed to be his father. Krios dropped to a knee instantly, but Percy hesitated. Krios saw this and punched Percy in the back of the knee, forcing him into a kneeling position.

"Lord, I-uh...some monsters found this boy in New Mexico and brought him here." Krios spoke, his voice wavering and shaky. Percy risked a sideways glance. Gone was the loud, insane joker, in his place was a quiet, fearful coward. "We believe he is-"

"I know who he is." The voice rumbled, interrupting Krios. "After all, I would know my son when I see him."

Line Break

Jessica was having a bad day, no, an awful day. She was a daughter of Mercury and was relatively new to camp. She wasn't great at sword fighting, so that's why she was so surprised when she was placed on guard duty. It was a group of the best fighters to patrol outside of Camp Jupitar's boundaries to protect the camp. Jessica wasn't complaining, it was either this, or cleanup duty. She was in the traditional purple camp shirt and jeans, with gold armor strapped on. She held a long dagger in her right hand. They had started early in the morning, circling around camp a few times before expanding outwards.

They had just passed particularly thick bush that Jessica saw rustle. She went to investigate it, but only found a squirrel. Jessica laughed at her paranoia and walked back to the main path. When she got back, her patrol group was gone. Jessica called out to them, walked around a bit, but ultimately couldn't find them. In her attempt to relocate her group, she had lost her sense of direction, and had no idea her way back to camp. In laymen terms, she was lost. She continued to search for her group, but it seemed they disappeared. She suddenly heard the voice of one of her group members off in the distance. From the sound of it, it seemed like Reyna was in trouble. She was a nice girl, around Jessica's age, and a tremendous warrior. She was a daughter of Bellona and tough as nails. Jessica rushed to help, following the screams and shouts of Reyna.

Jessica reached the clearing where the sound was coming from and looked around. There was no sign of Reyna anywhere. Suddenly, monsters galore seemed to come out of the woodworks. A massive, ugly cyclops took a step forward and smiled.

"Please help me, someone, please. I need help." The cyclops cried, his voice sounding exactly like Reyna's. Jessica's training finally caught up to her and she remembered that cyclops had a voice alteration ability.

"You, you tricked me!" Jessica shouted, sounding very whiney and immature. She pulled out her dagger, but the monsters just laughed. If Jessica was going down, she was going down swinging.

Monsters left and right pounced at her, and Jessica swung madly, connecting some of her swings into monster flesh, but she was ultimately overwhelmed. Just as she thought she was going to die, the cyclops picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She pounded on his back, kicked, flailed, and screamed, but nothing stopped the cyclops from lumbering to wherever he was taking her. After a few minutes, the monsters grew tired of her antics and decided to take action. A dracaena came up behind the cyclops and hefted her spear. The monster slammed the butt of her spear into Jessica's head, despite Jessica's promises of being quiet. She immediately lost consciousness and the world around her became black.

Line Break

It took some time for Percy to comprehend the news. This, this box, was his father? Percy couldn't believe it, and against his wishes, felt himself become increasingly excited. This was where he belonged, this was home. The fact that this man had raped his mother was forgotten. His father was here, Percy would be given a position of power, and best of all, there was no psychotic Athena. It was amazing. No one looked at Percy with pity, of hatred. Only respect and slight fear. Percy was shown where he would be staying, and that they already had clothing for him. Krios explained that Percy's father was Kronos, the titan lord of time and he had a big role in attacking Olympus.

"What about my marking?" Percy asked, raising his wrist for Krios to inspect it.

"Oh, this is amateur magic." Krios muttered as his cold hands poked and prodded Percy's wrist. Krios muttered something and Percy's wrist started to grow increasingly cold. His entire wrist soon became numb and Percy shivered. The coldness soon passed and Percy's wrist no longer had an owl imprinted on it. His wrist looked normal, if only slightly paler than the rest of his arm. Percy grinned and thanked Krios.

Percy trained and trained. Whether it was physical training, or mental teachings, it was exhausting. Percy's control over time improved tremendously. He could not slow a person's movements and well as speed up his own. Percy was told over and over again not to reverse time. That was a big no no. Reversing time would get the Fates involved, and they would be angry. Percy's fighting changed as well. His training sessions were to-the-death. Fighting increasingly powerful monster until one of them dies. It was always the monster, but a few times, Krios of Hyperion would have to intervene. It had been about a month of Percy staying at the Titan Stronghold, and he was loving every minute of it. He was however, more than a little disappointed that his father had not yet spoken to him since Percy's arrival.

One day, Percy's wish was granted. He was in the middle of his morning training when Krios came in with a wicked smile on his face.

"I hate to interrupt, but your father would like to speak with you." Krios said, before spinning on his heels and walking away. Percy felt excitement explode within him. He was ecstatic, a wide smile spreading out on his face. He wanted to impress his father as much as possible and wouldn't stop until he received validation. Percy trailed nervously behind Krios, somewhat scared of the chance of his father being disappointed.

Krios pushed open the doors of the room housing Kronos' sarcophagus and Percy walked in. As soon as he did that, Krios closed the doors behind him. Percy swallowed thickly and took a few steps forward.

"You requested me." Percy asked, his voice trembling. Whether he was Percy's father or not, the power emanating from the sarcophagus was nerve racking. He was slightly distracted as he noticed a detail on the sarcophagus that he didn't notice before. The box was engraved with some of humanity's greatest atrocities. It was terrifying, but he reminded himself that this was his father and swallowed his fear.

"I wish to speak to you about your loyalties." Kronos spoke, his scratchy, monotone voice echoing throughout the small room. "You see, you have been in the presence of Athena and… I wish to see the influence she had over your mind."

Percy mutely nodded. He felt a presence in his head and immense pain. Percy squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists. Percy vaguely heard the command from Kronos to relax, and Percy tried. After what felt like hours, but just merely seconds, the presence vanished. Percy felt lightheaded, and very nauseous. He stumbled a bit, but found his footing. Whatever Kronos had found, he was pleased.

From that meeting onward, Percy's relationship with Kronos grew. He would talk with Kronos often, and Percy's lost his nervousness around his father. They did not share a tradition father-son relationship. They were very respectful, serious and blunt to one another.

The more Percy stayed however, the more he noticed the little things. Demigods that turned on Olympus that were struggling or falling behind in their classes would suddenly vanish, but the monster would get more snacks. Percy saw the looks of absolute fear from most of the demigods, the tense air, thick with fear and angst. Percy found it harder and harder to stay there. His life with Athena wasn't pleasant, but he always knew where he stood with her. Here, he didn't know who his friends were and who his enemies were. Many were jealous of Percy's special treatment, but no one dared say anything. He had tried to befriend some of the demigods, but ultimately, Percy failed to acquire any friends.

As if sensing Percy's indecisiveness, Kronos requester Percy's presence to 'solidify Percy's loyalty'. Krios lead Percy to a part of the castle that was restricted to him. They went down multiple staircases and walked through many dark hallways, until finally reaching their destination. They stopped at what looked like a jail ward. The hallway was flanked by jail cells on either side. Dried blood covered most of the cell walls and a disgusting smell of rotting flesh, urine, sweat and something else filled Percy's nose. Percy forced down a gag as he walked past the revolting cells. The cell at the end of the hallway was lit up, and the door was open. Percy continued walking and noticed that Krios was nowhere to be seen. Percy stepped into the cell to see Kronos' sarcophagus resting on a wooden table. In the corner of the cell was a girl around Percy's age. She was shackled to the ground by her wrists. She was curled up in the fetal position and tears streaked down her face. Her body was covered in bruises and small cuts and Percy suppressed a gasp.

"What did you do to her?" Percy asked, reminded of his many nights with his abusive step-father, Gabe.

"I have done nothing, but you will." Kronos said smugly, "I know you Percy, more than you even know yourself. You are my son and you possess my flaws, my strengths, and my mentality. You enjoy causing others pain, you love it. The feeling of power it gives you, you lust for it, but your compassion fights with your cruelty. You fight it, not because you don't want it, but because you fear judgment. Do not worry child, no one shall judge you for fulfilling your destiny. You are a weapon, a beautifully destructive weapon. You will kill thousands in you mission of justice, but to do that, you must harness your hate, your cruelty, your ability to kill."

Percy's breath caught in his throat.

"Go on son, cause her pain. She is not worthy to even kiss your feet. End her, do not be merciful, do not show compassion, because her kind showed none to you." Kronos roared. Percy felt himself agreeing to what Kronos was saying, but reeled himself in.

"You want me, you want me to kill her?" Percy asked, swallowing audibly, his dry mouth killing him.

"I don't want you to just kill her, I want you to make her suffer." Kronos said almost gleefully.

"But, what has she ever done to me? She is completely innocent." Percy protested, afraid of what was instore.

"Maybe she hasn't done anything directly, but she would if she was given the chance. It's in her nature. The gods use the weak to become strong. Just as it is in your nature to kill, to conquer, to survive. The gods have used others as stepping stones for too long. Their rain is over, and you are responsible for bringing about a new golden age." Kronos urged.

Percy shut his eyes tight. His mind was in turmoil, he wanted to extract revenge, to earn justice, but another part of his brain told him that she was innocence. That what he was going to do wasn't justice, it was murder. Percy was teetering on the edge, but what ultimately pushed him over the edge was what the girl said.

"You freak, you're actually considering this?" She screamed, "Go to hell you monster."

A sadistic smirk spread across Percy's face. "I'm already there, but you're about to join me."

(Gruesome part coming up, if you don't want to read, skip to next A.N.)

Percy noticed that on the table was a variety of objects. They ranged from knives, to hammers, to even pliers. Percy grinned evilly and walked over to the table. He hovered his hand over the many instruments of torture before finally selecting double pronged poker. He held it up and Kronos voiced his approval. Percy walked over to one of the many torches and stuck it in the fire. Percy used his time powers to speed up the process of heating the metal. Once the sharpened tips of the poker were glowing a reddish orange, Percy pulled it out of the fire. Percy walked over to the girl and crouched to eye level.

"I really must know, what is your name?" Percy asked.

Instead of a response, the girl simply spat on Percy's face. Percy clicked his tongue disapprovingly and shook his head.

"Now, now, there will be none of that." Percy said as he jammed the metal rod into the girls thigh. Blood jumped out of the wound, coving Percy's arms and face. Not wiping away the blood, Percy grinned. The screams coming from the girl were like music to his ears.

"Now, I will ask again. What is your name?" Percy asked as if he was scolding a misbehaving toddler.

"Jessica." The girl mumbled out, face pressed against her chest.

"What was that?" Percy asked, enjoying his power over the girl. The monster he had worked so hard to control was out of its cage, and it smelled blood.

"I said, Jessica." The now identified Jessica said louder.

"Thank you." Percy said. With one swift motion, he pressed the scolding hot metal against her face. His other hand coming up and holding her head to prevent her from moving. Percy attempted to use as many objects as possible. Gone was the caring, compassionate, young boy. In his place stood a monster, completely blood-crazed freak that was reveling in satisfaction as the girl continued to scream.

(All good now.)

Percy continued the torture for long, long hours. Finally, Kronos spoke.

"It is becoming morning, finish her." Kronos commanded.

Percy looked down at the now unrecognizable girl before him. She was mangled and bloodied. Silent sobs racked her body as she wished for death. Percy's entire body was covered in blood. His hair was matted down from it. His clothes stuck to his skin from it. He wasn't the only one to get covered. The walls, the floor and even the ceiling was also covered in Jessica's blood.

The grin on Percy's face had never left him since the beginning of the night. Percy pressed his watch's face and watched it as it transformed into his trusty sword Eternity. Percy took a step closer and hefted his sword up. He placed it in the girl's neck. The rational part of his brain was screaming at him to stop, to think about his actions, but the prospect of killing was too inviting.

With a swift swing, Eternity cut through the air and into the neck of Jessica. Her head rolled off her torso and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. The head rolled and stopped against the wall. The torso collapsed and Percy turned his attention to the head. He couldn't tear his gaze from the blank stare of Jessica's cold eyes. His breath caught in his throat when what he just did fully caught up with him. Percy managed to tear his gaze from her cold, unseeing eyes down to his hands. The hands that tortured and killed an innocent girl. They were caked with blood, both old, dried blood, and new, fresh blood that dripped off his hands. His hands were shaking profusely as he gazed upon his hands, the hands of a monster.

A.N.- A little bit of a darker chapter, but I hope you all still enjoyed. Tell me how to thought of dark Percy. The torture scene wasn't too bad, but I still put that warning in there for those who wanted it. Thank you for reading!

-Ink