Sorry it was up so late, the next chapter won't be up for at least six days, unfortunately, so enjoy this chapter while it lasts.

Disclaimer: don't own PJO and/or HOO.


Chapter 46 - Death of Two Kings

Theron later tried to explain what it was like to the Titans.

He could feel the energy from the lightning bolt as it extended to its original size and around him the air smelled of ozone. He was flipped over by the wind and his back screamed in protest. Ouranos studied Theron for several moments, probably savouring the feeling, before he stabbed downwards without hesitation.

Theron rolled to the side at the last second, and instead of piercing the middle of his chest, the tip of electricity went straight through his right shoulder and into the ground. Millions of vaults of electricity shot through his body, and he writhed on the ground as a scream erupted from his throat. Theron was dimly aware of the Titans shouting and trying to get to him as Ouranos made a sound of disappointment.

"Oh no," he muttered, "that will not do. It has to be the heart."

Theron shut his eyes tightly. Zeus' bolts had been nothing to this. It felt like he was being dipped in a vat of acid that had been combined with water from the Styx and being electrocuted by his youngest brother at the same time. He felt it as Ouranos pushed the spear in further, keeping him impaled on the ground.

Theron whimpered as a fresh wave of electricity shot through him, making his muscles twitch. Then Ouranos' eyes widened in disbelief as the lightning spear he had made started dissolving into the air. Theron curled over, his hands clutching at his right shoulder in an attempt at stopping too much ichor joining the quickly growing puddle on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Oceanus running to Kronos.

"Who dares to interfere?" Ouranos bellowed angrily.

"I do," Zeus said as he strode forward, not unlike Theron had. He dropped slightly as Ouranos attempted to make him fall, but then quickly regained control.

"Who are you?" Ouranos hissed.

Zeus looked surprised that the Primordial didn't know him, but quickly took advantage of that. He took out his Master Bolt which quickly became a spear of shimmering blue, lightning. "I am Zeus," he announced, "god of Honour, Justice, and the Sky. King of the gods and Olympus… and youngest son of Kronos and Rhea."

Ouranos blinked. "A god?"

"Yes," Zeus said simply as he continued forwards. Several of the Titans were watching, many of them hoping that the god would be knocked out of the Sky. "A god. The race of immortals that came after the Titans, as a result of your stupid prophecy, and I shall kill you like my Father before me."

Theron concentrated, knowing his little brother wouldn't even be able to touch the Primordial unless he helped. He may have been a terrible brother so far, but he intended to change that. He focused on the monsters roaming the plains beneath him and drew their powers into the arena. All the immortals felt the already big amount of power in the arena peak.

Gaea was obviously more focused on what was happening as she stopped making the Earthborn and the Titans quickly finished them off. The air shimmered beside Zeus, and Rhea appeared beside him, looking incredibly tired, yet determined. Theron took a breath and slowly rose unsteadily to his feet, swaying slightly, but he felt the power of his domains flow through him. Atlas flashed to his side and helped Theron by keeping the Prince's right arm around his shoulders. Soon Theron could stand by himself, but he still kept his arm around Atlas' shoulders so he wouldn't fall. He held out his hand for the Titans' Blade which flew towards him.

The two Titans flashed to stand by Zeus as the gods moved forward, each of them wearing full battle armour with their weapons out and pointing at the Primordial in front of them. One by one, the Titans appeared in the air beside Zeus, each of them looking worn and tired, but determined. The last Titan to appear beside Zeus was Oceanus. The eldest Titan looked like he was about to charge his father and kill him then and there as he held his sword by his side. If the gods were surprised to have the Titans levitating in the air beside them, they didn't show it.

Ouranos' eyes flashed dangerously, but Theron could sense his hesitation. The Primordial clenched his hand into a fist and a lightning bolt shot down towards the group of immortals. Theron raised the Blade and directed it towards himself before firing it at Zeus. The energy in the bolt gave the god as much power as Theron usually had – enough to possibly beat Kronos at full strength.

Ouranos eyed Zeus as the god pulsed with energy. Zeus' Master Bolt hummed and seemed to fry the air. "We may be weaker than you by ourselves, but if Kronos and only four of his brothers can defeat you then the forty of us definitely can."

Ouranos glowered at Zeus. "Are all of Kronos' children as annoying as you and Theron are?"

The seven siblings shared a look between them before saying in unison, "Yes." Theron grinned and added, "It is inherited."

Ouranos studied the seven immortals and Theron knew immediately what he was going to attempt. The Primordial smiled slightly, "Then fight me. Just the seven of you. I can sense you are weaker than my children at full strength, perhaps you would like to prove otherwise? After all, your Father is going to die, so I may as well finish the set."

"No," Rhea said immediately, "you are in no position to be making demands, Father."

Ouranos' blue eyes stormed over and he fisted his hands. Above them, the storm grew in size and lightning flickered above them. He roared and dozens of bolts shot down at once. To the shock of everyone there, they slowed down drastically until they were almost at a standstill.

Theron looked at Kronos to see the Titan King's fingers twitched slightly. He breathed out in relief. "KILL HIM!" Oceanus bellowed.

The Titans and gods charged towards the Primordial, all of the Titans forgetting their injuries as adrenaline rushed through their bodies. Oceanus stayed in the air and watched the battle, intending to vapour travel out any being that was injured so that they couldn't fight any longer. Theron raised his sword and charged, shooting through the air like a bullet as he followed Zeus. He was on Zeus' left with Poseidon and Hades beside him. On Zeus' right were their sisters. Hestia's usually peaceful look was replaced by the goddess that had survived the Titanomachy. Ouranos attempted to swat the seven immortals out of the sky, but Theron twisted under the massive hand and slashed with the Blade, making a long laceration down the Primordial's arm. Beside him, Poseidon sent a blast of water to shear a hole straight through the hand heading towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, Theron saw Atlas as he swung his javelin to smash into the closest limb to him. The gods and Titans worked together to create opportunities to wound the Primordial. Hyperion blasted fire at Ouranos' other hand and the Primordial jerked his hand away from his son and straight into the path of Hephaestus' hammer. Ouranos let out a bellow of pain as the hammer smashed into the back of his hand. Lelantos, Leto, Artemis and Apollo were firing arrows into the most painful places possible, managing to distract the Primordial every time they connected. Theron made a mental note to never get on his niece's bad side – he rather liked not being castrated. Theron created a star inside Ouranos' chest and sent a beam of light down towards it, making it explode inside his grandfather's body. Ouranos threw his head back and one of his hands moved to cover the gaping hole in his chest as the other swung round towards Theron. The Titan Prince's eyes widened and he dropped into a dive in an attempt to avoid the limb. Ouranos focused almost completely on swatting Theron out of the air and the gods and Titans took it in stride.

It only took a quick thought from Koios for all of the Titans to form a line in front of Ouranos. Theron headed straight towards them and Ouranos faltered when he saw all of them facing him with their weapons out. They shouted as one and a tremendous wall of force rolled out of each of them, blasting back the Primordial of the sky. The gods found the wall passed through them harmlessly whilst forcing Ouranos out of his true form from the pain.

Theron dropped to the ground, breathing heavily as Ouranos attempted to change back into his true form, but he quickly found that he was too weak after sending incredibly powerful bolts of lightning after all the immortals around him.

The gods looked between the form of the Primordial and the Titans, immediately noticing the similarities between them. The Titans held themselves like royalty, just like Ouranos. They each had a glint in their eyes that could mean they were either about to punch you or tell a joke, and they were all around twelve feet tall and muscular. The Primordial's skin was the colour of the midnight sky with glittering stars, which sort of ruined the power he had shown whilst fighting them all off.

Ouranos struggled to his feet, swaying slightly as he did so. Theron changed out of his divine form and the Titans and gods quickly did the same. Hyperion disappeared in a column of fire, reappearing in front of his father. He roared and punched the Primordial in the sternum, probably breaking a few ribs. Theron looked at Koios and the Titan nodded slightly. The Prince limped forward and his brethren parted for him, creating a path to the front. As Theron passed the gods he caught his siblings' gazes and inclined his head in a gesture for them to join him. Zeus hesitated slightly as Poseidon, Hestia and Hades moved forward, but he quickly fell into step beside them. Hera and Demeter soon joined them and they met Theron midway to Ouranos. The Primordial was held at sword point by the Titan of Light and seemed to know what his eldest grandchild was planning as he was glaring daggers at Theron. Theron strode past Backbiter which lay discarded on the floor, holding his hand out with the palm down and silently willing the sword into his hand. Backbiter shot up into his left hand and Theron sheathed the Titans' Blade at his waist.

"What are we doing?" Hera asked nervously.

"I am giving you a chance to prove yourselves to the Titans," Theron glanced at his youngest sister, "if you want it, of course. I thought that if you helped me it may cause the Titans to respect you more and our agreements should be smoother."

Hestia's eyes widened. "You want us to cut him up into thousands of pieces?"

"No," Theron said immediately, "I will do that. You just have to hold him down… and try not to get kicked in the face like Iapetus did. You will never hear the end of it."

Zeus looked more hesitant than Theron had thought he would. "Are you sure about this? I mean, he is the Primordial of the Sky."

Theron sighed, "You did it to our Father, did you not?" He glanced up at where Kronos was lying limply and quickly averted his eyes back to Ouranos. "Why is this any different?"

Zeus frowned, "It feels like I shouldn't do it. I have a gut feeling that something will go horribly wrong if I do."

Theron thought for several moments before turning to his siblings. "Do all of you feel it?" He asked and they nodded. He smiled slightly, "Good, because what this entails is following on our Father's footsteps."

Poseidon's eyes widened, "But that means…"

Theron nodded slightly, "It means accepting your heritage and embracing your Titan sides. You may not like it, but all of you are part Titan if not the whole of you. Is it really so bad being a child of Kronos and Rhea?"

"It's not bad being a child of Rhea," Demeter said, "but I'm not sure about being a child of Kronos."

Hyperion looked up as they approached and nodded to Theron. The Prince inclined his head slightly, "Thank you, Uncle."

Hyperion looked at the gods before turning to Theron. "All of us know what you are trying to do, nephew. Do not mess up… and if the gods do not have the guts I will happily wield the scythe."

Theron rolled his eyes and turned back to look at his siblings. "Look, if worse comes to worse then I will sort everything out. What is the worst thing that could happen though? You get more powerful because you accept that you are part Titan. The Titans will not mind if you are in Othrys. Worst of all… you have to accept that I am your older brother." He raised an eyebrow at his siblings and offered the hilt of the Titans' Blade to Zeus.

Zeus made a split second decision and took the weapon, flipping it round and holding it out to Theron. "I'll help," he said quietly, "but you're doing the cutting."

Theron snorted. "I know I am," he looked to his other siblings and all of them nodded.

Hestia frowned slightly, "This isn't right," she muttered, "we're debating over who should cut him up."

Theron smiled darkly, "There is no debate over that. I have a lot of unfinished business with our grandfather." His golden eyes glinted not unlike Kronos' when the Titan King had fought all of the gods in the throne room nearly a year ago.

Hades was tempted to ask why his brother hated the Primordial so much, but assumed he wouldn't appreciate that. He looked down at the form of Ouranos that Hyperion still held at sword point. "How are we going to do this then?"

Theron shrugged, "Take a limb." He turned to face Ouranos and his father's weapon shimmered as it changed into scythe form. "How are you feeling, Grandfather?"

Ouranos' eyes narrowed and probably would have attempted to blast Theron into oblivion if Hyperion hadn't moved his golden, flaming sword threateningly. "I see you are still a damned brat," Ouranos sniffed, "no respect for your elders."

Theron smirked thinly, "I have respect for beings that deserve it. You, however, beat me. That does not deserve respect."

Ouranos laughed, "I taught you how to behave since your Father refused to do so."

Theron clenched his jaw and nodded to Hyperion. The older Titan moved back and Ouranos quickly started to rise, but the gods were faster. They pinned the Primordial down to the ground and Theron strolled forward, swinging Kronos' scythe by his side. "This time, you are going down to Tartarus and you will never leave."

"I have done what I came here for," Ouranos said as he looked Theron in the eyes, "Kronos is close to death if he is not dead already. Gaea and her giants will come for you next. Mark my words, Theron, Prince of Othrys; you shall fall by the hand of Gaea or one of her Giants. I swear it on Cha-"

Zeus quickly punched Ouranos in the head without even thinking as he realised that the Primordial was attempting to curse his brother. Theron shook his head and the lead weight that had started forming in his stomach unravelled. The scar across his left eye rippled as he scowled and clenched his hands around the shaft of Kronos' scythe.

Ouranos snickered, "You think that was a punch? I am disappointed at what my ichor has given rise to. You are not worthy to be immortal, much less a King. Maybe if you get stronger you could beat a mortal, or-" Theron swung Kronos' scythe. The gods watched in sick fascination as Theron cut again and again until the only obvious thing left of Ouranos was his head. The sky blue eyes open and staring up as the light faded.

"Uh… Theron, I think that was a little much," Poseidon said cautiously as he looked around at the thousands of pieces of Ouranos scattered around them.

Theron looked at his siblings, his eyes a dark gold. "Nobody hurts or disrespects my family."

Zeus was slightly surprised as he realised that Theron was talking about him, He noticed Theron was looking at him funny and frowned when he didn't have to look up at his brother. "You've shrunk," he noted.

Theron grinned widely and shook his head. "No, you have grown."

Zeus looked at Poseidon and his eyes widened. His brother looked like he was chiselled from a block of marble, his sea green eyes were swirling with power and his muscles were more defined than before. Poseidon caught Zeus' look. "What?"

Theron looked at his siblings smugly. "You all look a lot more like Titans. I told you that you would be accepted, and with the physical change you should feel more abilities manifesting… Titan Instincts or control over time – of course it will take a lot of practice until you are at our standards, but it will happen. Our Father is – oh immortals, "Theron cursed, "how could I have forgotten?" He took off towards the Titan King with his siblings close behind.

The gods were standing awkwardly in the arena, obviously not sure what to do as the Titans crowded around their King. Theron launched himself up the stands, taking two steps at a time. He shoved past the Titans and stopped inside the small ring, his eyes immediately tunnelled to his Father.

High above them, the sky turned the colour of blood outwards from the sun and the death of Ouranos became known to every being. Theron felt like he was in a trance and wading through tar as he walked forwards with all the Titans looking at him sympathetically.

"No," Theron said shakily as for the first time in millions of years tears threatened to fall, "it's impossible. He can't…" He stumbled towards Kronos and knelt down within arm's reach of the Titan King. "Father, you can't leave me," he placed his ichor covered hands on either side of Kronos' face and leaned forward, "come back."

"Theron," Iapetus said gently, "even immortals cannot cheat death. You of all beings should know that."

Theron stubbornly shook his head. "No," he argued, "I don't believe it. He isn't gone. He's Kronos, he comes back from anything." Theron took Kronos' hand in his own even as he knew the truth and a single golden tear rolled down his cheek to land on Kronos' chest. Gaea was cunning, Theron thought furiously, sending Ouranos to lower morale and get his revenge. The others will be reluctant to fight now.

Theron looked down into the open eyes of his Father as the Titan King gazed unseeingly back at him with a look of peace and acceptance on his face. Idly Theron wondered if Kronos had seen them kill Ouranos and had accepted the six elder gods as his children in his last moments.

Oceanus looked at Theron sadly. "All hail Theron, eldest son of Kronos, and King of Othrys."

A feeling of grim determination settled in Theron's stomach like a lead weight and his hand tightened around Kronos' limp one as he silently swore to get revenge on Gaea and her brood of giants. He looked around at the Titans as their expressions changed from misery to fury. Othrys was no longer going to hold back and Theron would make sure of it. But first… his eyes turned back to Kronos.

"Apollo," Theron's voice was loud and clear, "get the Physician's Cure here… now." His voice left no room for argument and Apollo hurriedly left.

"Theron," Koios said warily, "you are not doing what I am thinking, right?" Theron evenly met Koios' gaze and a clear challenge shimmered in his molten gold eyes.


Next chapter - The Cure

And Kronos dies! Ouranos dies (again)! Theron had entered a warpath, which will be fun when he meets any Giants on the battlefield.