1136: Well, that went well. We haven't changed in five days, haven't showered in four, and I fell into so many quick sand pits that I've got sand coming out of my sand. I hate your family reunions.

003: *cracks spine* So they got a little carried away...

002: A little? They-

003: Would you look at that! We're back on Tuesday! As a reward for all of your patience, there will be a second chapter up later today. Woo hoo for that. I'll probably think of some other way to pay you guys back for your patience...just not today.

Alex's POV

I really hoped Jacob wasn't beating himself up over not sacrificing himself to free me. When I'd made that offer— No, it wasn't me. I couldn't think of that dark, twisted version as me. I had to keep us separate. I needed something to clear my head, but it was hard to do when your head alternately had either an evil primordial god in it or a dark twisted version of yourself.

Finally coming back home was a good start though. All I can say is, news travels fast. By the time the four of us broke off from the caravan of trucks fleeing Urunos's path of destruction and got back to camp, news of what we'd done had gotten to the people who needed to hear it.

Jacob had gotten what he'd wanted. An army of mortals, under his command. Sure, he'd still have to work with their own leaders, but he was the strategist, the head honcho now. Rae I'm sure was eating that up.

The mortal soldiers making preparations and bases outside and around camp's borders would salute him if he walked by, and everyone gave him a bit more respect than before. Even Roxanne stopped tripping him when he walked past.

But to me, he was still just Jacob. The Smart One who would sacrifice his freedom and the fate of the world to help me if I let him. His fatal flaw was more obvious than a Minotaur in a shopping mall.

Jacob, surprisingly, wasn't letting it go to his head either. Leading the an army at thirteen, proclaimed by Poseidon to be more powerful than any other half-blood either now or before, so much glory thrust his way, and he didn't seem to notice. If it had been me, I'd be gloating until I was blue in the face. And then I'd keep gloating.

But I'd probably get us all killed if I was in the lead.

All the people who'd made it onto the trucks had survived, but they were it. The rest of the city, people, buildings, pets…gone. New York was up next, we all knew. And when that happened…it wouldn't be pretty.

And there was more bad news. More, very bad news that made us question everything we thought we knew about our family, and their history.

Urunos was a day out at most. The whole situation was like a time bomb, waiting to explode. The gods had gone out again, as many as able, to back up Zeus and slow Urunos down. Jacob was off in the command tent going over the plan with the mortal leaders who would have to pass the orders onto their troops, the others at camp were off doing their own thing, preparing or continuing repairs to camp.

I went for a walk, trying to keep my head clear. I was walking down the fireworks beach, the scent of seawater oddly comforting. I was idly drawing a skull in the sand with my sword when he came up behind me.

"You must be Alex di Angelo," he greeted. I spun on my heels, and recognized him instantly. He was the monster in all the scary stories my dad had told me as a little girl. The big villain who'd corrupted the son of Hermes, destroyed the Mist and imprisoned the gods.

"Kronos!" I shouted, staggering back and raising my sword. He just laughed.

"I have bested gods, child," he said. "You stand no chance."

"I'd rather die fighting, thanks," I shot back. "What do you want."

"You can lower your weapon, I'm actually here to help," Kronos said. I didn't buy into that for one minute. My grip tightened on my sword and there was a brief spark of electricity across my skin.

"Careful now, you don't want to lose control again," he warned.

My fury subsided and gave way to confusion. Did he know? Could he know? What was he even doing here? Uncle Percy had scattered him into nothing before I was even born. And why was he here? My head spun with questions and doubt, and I felt it. Her, trying to force her way to dominance. I shoved her attempt back down.

"You should be proud," Kronos said, folding his arms behind his back and looking over me in interest. "Few people possess the will to resist the control of an immortal. You're personalities have actually merged rather than struggled against each other."

"What do you want?" I said. I felt control waver again as fear crept through my mind. Why didn't he just attack me already? What was his game?

"I figured you might want a little more knowledge of what you're up against," he said. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be possible. Kronos was gone, and he wasn't coming back. This was all just a horrible dream and I was going to wake up any minute.

"What do you mean?"

"The curse you bear, di Angelo," Kronos clarified. "Your ability to resist is fueled by emotion, did you know? Love, courage, hope, other pointless things like that make it easier to stay in control. Now, you're more…negative emotions like anger, despair, fear, doubt…and jealousy. Those turn your will to nothing, and will lead to loss of control."

It was like he'd been stalking me. How he know about…everything? My grip on my sword loosened, and I felt a headache as Urunos made another push. He'd stopped directly trying to wrench control form my hands some time ago. Now, he tried to force the merge of our personalities, tried to force Dark Alex to come out.

My sword dropped into the sand and I fell to my knees, hands pressed against my temples. Stay in control, stay in control, stay in control….

I can defeat Kronos, right here, right now. Let me have control.

No!

"What would happen if you truly lost control?" Kronos pondered as I struggled against myself. "How many people do you think would die before you could regain control? That's assuming you even can at least. Think of all the people you would hurt. This boy Jacob I've heard about, what would happen if you hurt him, hm?"

Don't let him get to you. I thought futilely. Don't let him do this…

But it was too late. The fear of being this close to the Titan King, the anger that he was messing with my head, the doubt I had in myself, it all boiled over and suddenly—

I felt a cold tingle across my spine and my sword shot back into my hands as I rose to my feet, one thought on my mind: Destroy Kronos. I could see the reddish gray glow coming off my skin. The power was almost overwhelming…and I liked it.

"I don't know why you're here, or how you came back," I said, my voice echoing. "But I know how I'm getting rid of you."

Kronos just smiled. "I'm sure you do." His scythe flashed into his hands. "I won't say it isn't personal, but the fact is I need to get rid of Urunos's spy."

I realized everything he'd said was just a ploy to bring out my true self, and my true potential. He wanted to kill me, and get rid of Urunos's presence here. He was as dumb as the rest. He saw the glow and assumed I was under Urunos's sway. But the opposite was true. He was under mine. And I was going to prove it by tearing Kronos to pieces.

"You're going to find it won't be that easy," I snarled.

"Alex!" a voice shouted. Kronos and I both turned to the source. Jacob stood, staring at the two of us. A worried look spread across his face. He looked so weak when he was worried. I didn't like it much at all.

"Jacob…Jackson," Kronos said, the smile on his face huge. "You're Jackson's boy?"

"Kronos…" Jacob said slowly. His sword was out in under a second, and his face became one of anger. Now that's more like it. "Step away from her. Now."

"I think you should be more concern with yourself," Kronos said. "She doesn't seem to be fully in control of her actions. Could be prone to do any number of things."

"Like slit your throat," I hissed.

"Alex, back it down," Jacob cautioned as he took a step towards Kronos.

"And let you have all the fun?" my voice echoed. "I don't think so."

"Alex, he's goaded you into this and you walked right into it," Jacob said. "He wants an excuse to kill you, and you attacking him in a berserk would be all the excuse he needs. Just back it down."

"He didn't goad me into anything," I snapped. "And why are you protecting him? I could take him by myself. Either help or get out of the way."

"Alex, I'm not going to lose you to this monster," Jacob said. "You have to back it down."

I wasn't sure if he was talking about my true self that everyone seemed to hate so much or Kronos. Why did he want me to go back to that weak, fragile old me when I was so much better now? It didn't make sense. And yet, somewhere deep down, his words struck a cord.

"C'mon Alex come back to me," Jacob begged, his eyes moving between me and Kronos.

"I am Alex!" I snapped.

A voice inside my head argued. No you're not!

I felt a burning sensation suddenly rush up my spine, and I gasped, feeling the power leave my body. I staggered slightly, and Jacob ran up to my side just in time to catch me. He glared at Kronos again. "Leave. Now."

"I'm here to stay and you know it Jackson," Kronos laughed. "But if you really want some alone time with the spy—"

I looked away, and in a flash Kronos was gone. The cold sensation of Dark Alex taking over was gone, thank the gods. I'd come so close to rushing into a fight with Kronos, Hades I'd been an instant away from attacking Jacob. I realized Jacob was still holding me and shoved him away as I stood back on my own two feet.

"I'm…sorry," I said as I collected myself, "I don't know what happened. One second I was in control and the next…I wasn't. What was he doing here? Why didn't he just kill us?"

"Let's just say the gods got desperate," Jacob said, his face upset. "And my parents don't know how to say no."

Something was wrong. Something, I wasn't sure what yet, was very wrong.

Up next, Jacob has a "chat" with his parents. I wonder how THAT'S going to go. About as good as my aunt Vel meeting 1136.

1136: She tied me to the train tracks! TRAIN TRACKS!

003: That means she likes you.