The Earthshaker
"Did you love me?"
"Always" responds Annabeth.
Percy's world shattered around him as Luke laid dying in her arms.
What happened next sounded like a nuclear explosion on steroids from below, shattering windows and buildings alike. The throne room no longer had a ceiling. The gods were physically shook to their bones still circling where Typhon had been given a one-way trip to Tartarus. Hell, it made the legion on Othrys stumble.
(Zeus)
"What in Chaos could that have been?"
Only a dull chorus of murmurs could be heard since none of the Olympians wanted to answer that question. There was only one logical answer. Kronos has returned, and he was taunting the gods. There was only one thing that didn't add up. The barrier surrounding the Empire State Building was gone. Immediately every god flashed up to protect their throne from another potentially devastating attack. What they saw was possibly the last thing they expected.
The throne room did not just lack a ceiling. There was no trace it was ever there. The only exception being a heavy cloud of dust lingering in the air. Not a single part of the massive football stadium size ceiling was anywhere to be found. I imagined Tsar Bomba was dropped right in here except 90% of the force was funneled directly upwards.
Upon adjusting my eyes, I could see a couple of bodies lying around. One I recognized to be the daughter of Athena and another to be the son of Poseidon. Kronos was nowhere to be seen. Then I heard a gasp.
(Percy)
I slowly opened my eyes to see the entire Olympian council staring at me.
So, my intelligent response was, "What?"
"Mr. Jackson what happened here, and where is Kronos? We felt an unrivaled amount of power be released from here mere minutes ago" said Zeus.
"Lord Zeus I have no idea what you're talking about. One second Luke was dying and the next I was waking up."
"Are you sure that is all my son? Because that felt like an earthquake, I am not sure even I can rival?" Poseidon questioned.
"Yes father"
Hermes meanwhile after hearing Luke's name perked up and began to look around for him.
"Where is my son? You said he was here only a moment ago but I only see the daughter of Athena?"
"Honestly Lord Hermes, I am not sure. He was just here."
The council quickly responded by moving around the throne room in search of the boy Kronos.
"I believe I can answer your question Lord Hermes."
"Annabeth?" says Athena
"Yes mother. He truly was here just a moment ago, but as his life force was fading so was his body. I have never seen anything like it."
Hades then decides to chime in, while he had known at least half of what happened regarding the explosion. "I believe he has faded. I felt his soul entering my realm but it was not a normal death. Nor was it normal fading. I feel no trace of him at all. I believe he is gone. Truly gone, and along with him I believe Kronos has faded as well." Unknown to everyone present was that his last statement was close to the truth, but not quite correct.
"Oh no, please no." cries Annabeth who had begun to cry.
Zeus being the power-hungry man he is, disregards the current conversation and state of the girl and nearly explodes into his true form with rage. "Then what in Chaos' name could have caused that caliber of an explosion, nay, NATURAL DISASTER?"
"Is that all you care about, brother?" says Hestia.
"Hestia, thank Chaos you're alright! We figured you would have escaped" says Poseidon relief evident in his facial expression.
"Yes brother, thank you, but I would never leave my home. I too was knocked out by the show of power. However, I do think that your son may have some answers."
"Me?" I had been trying to stay out of this conversation as I was dealing with a mental love conflict at the time, and not to mention I felt erased of all power. The war below had taken all my energy but now I was barely standing.
"Yes, you Percy. I mean it was you who did this." Zeus nearly went critical, turning around with rage he immediately pulled out his master bolt and took aim at the son of Poseidon only to find a very powerful trident at his neck, and surprisingly an angry eight-year-old goddess of the hearth in front of him.
"If you touch my son, Kronos will be the least of your worries"
Surprisingly it was Hera who spoke next, "Yes husband, please lower your weapon, we just seemed to have won a war so now would not be the best time to start another."
Reluctantly, Zeus lowered his master bolt while glaring daggers at Poseidon.
"I do not suppose you can clarify any of this for us, son of Poseidon?" Hera continued.
"No Lady Hera, with all due respect, you were here when I awoke, and the last thing I remember seeing was Luke's body." I mean it was a half-truth because I was emptily staring at Luke's body when I heard his final words and Annabeth's response.
"Then let us all calm down so we can sort this out" says Hera as she walked to her throne.
"You. Will. Find. Me. Answers." Zeus spits quietly at his dear brother of the seas. "I hereby call an emergency council meeting."
Meanwhile, I was clearly scared shitless. The most powerful weapon known to man (unknown to man?) nearly just vaporized me and I don't think the Achilles Curse was going to stop a couple billion volts. What did just happen, I thought to myself, as the gods flashed to their thrones, some of which had seen better days. All I remember was hearing those words and then blacking out and waking up very, very tired. I felt as though I could sleep for a hundred years. I pondered these thoughts as I took a seat at the base of my father's throne.
"Before getting to another matter at hand, I would like to highlight the bravery of the gods in our fight against Typhon…" said Zeus who continues for ten minutes on one of his speeches before even thanking Poseidon which Hera had to glare at him to do so. I just zoned out as nothing of importance was going to come up, and I was nearly asleep when I was jolted awake by something Zeus said. "…thanking our heroes is in order, with one exception, Mr. Jackson."
"WHAT!?" exclaimed father.
"Yes, brother, you heard me. Until we can sort this power surge out your son will be spending some time in the pit." This was followed by an immediate falling sensation as I once again saw nothing but black, but this time, I was very, very much awake.
I felt nothing. Not even the air rushing against me as I passed out from exhaustion.
(Olympus, Throne Room)
"I, Poseidon, Lord of the Seas, the Stormbringer and Earthshaker, hereby resign from the Olympian council. You, Zeus, have just made an enemy."
"So be it. I will not have a loose cannon threat against Olympus."
"MY SON IS A 'LOOSE CANNON THREAT' AGAINST US? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? HE IS THE REASON WE ARE ALL ALIVE RIGHT NOW. I SHOULD, NAY, I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND" Poseidon responds as he jumps out of his throne towards one very smug looking king of the gods and then proceeds to land an earthshattering (ha get it, no? ok) blow right to said king's head knocking him out cold.
The only reason Zeus does not fade in the next thirty seconds is three quarters of the Olympian council reluctantly restrains a majorly pissed off Poseidon, and has trouble doing so. Are we sure he is not the most powerful god because he sure as hell seems like it, thinks Apollo. The rest of the Olympians, meanwhile, are dragging away Zeus, and not being too careful about his head.
"Brother stop this! It was an unjust act but we can get your son back, he is still very much alive." Says Hades who is taking the brunt force of Poseidon as he restrains his arms.
"Yes, but your king will not be for much longer" Poseidon responds as he flashes out.
(Percy)
I woke to screaming. No, not screaming, this was a monster yelling. Gods know which one I thought as I stood up and brushed myself off taking a look at my surroundings. Well, I thought to myself, fuck me. Here I am in Tartarus of all places after winning a war for the gods. I was bitter to say the least. Let's do a weapons check. Riptide, yep, Achilles Curse, yep I mean I don't have a scratch on me, shield, wait I don't have a shield. Ok so everything seems to be here I thought. The only problem was the weight in my right pocket (I keep Riptide in my left). What could this possibly be, I thought as I pulled out a… pocket knife? I don't carry a pocket knife. What I really did not expect was what happened next as I opened it. Backbiter!? What!? This is Luke's sword; I mean he is dead or faded or just gone but why do I have it. And why is it hidden as a pocket knife? These are the thoughts I was pondering as I walked toward the only light source in the far distance. Gotta start somewhere.
(1ish hours later)
Alright, the river Phlegethon, at least I have a food source. Wish it was a cheeseburger but apparently defeating Kronos doesn't even get you one of those. I lost track of time already, ironic how I now had the lord of time's sword which I had managed to turn back into a pocket knife with a convenient thought. The only positive of this entire event is that I was now feeling much more energized which only doubled as I hungerly (thirstily?) consumed the fire water. Gods, how long did I sleep for, could not have been that long seeing how I wasn't eaten by just about anything down here.
Ok, time to sort this out, how could I possibly have Luke's sword? Apparently ,I accidently said that out loud, as I got a response.
"I can help you with that son of Poseidon"
"Who in the fu-" I said pulling out Riptide, only to be tackled into the Phlegethon.
"Yes, Jackson, feel the burn just as I felt when Luke stabbed his weak point."
Oh shit.
"This is nothing compar-" was all Kronos got out before I regained my bearings and forced the water away, throwing off Kronos. I mean tackling a son of Poseidon into a body of water (ish), how stupid can you be.
At this point Kronos got a little worried, "You can't do that. The Phlegethon is not water, it is fire."
"Well, I guess we have both been surprised in the last few seconds" I said as I took aim at Kronos and washed the fire over him. Who knew Kronos could scream like a little girl I thought as I condensed the fire and circled him in it?
I guess I am learning a lot of things today though as the fire seemed to just melt off his body.
"Yes Jackson, everything is susceptible to the inevitability of time. Let's see what it does to your body" said Kronos as he materialized a scythe and attacked. What he didn't know is that I know that is not his symbol of power. "You are weak Jackson. I have had time here in the pit to recover already. How was I defeated by a pathetic, love stricken little boy like you?"
At this I lost it. Dodge. Parry. Block. Dodge. Strike. All to no avail, as Kronos disarmed me within a minute. The range on that scythe is incredible and deceiving.
"Well Jackson, I can tell you I will have fun finding your weak point" Kronos said with his scythe pointed at an armless me, or so he thought. That's when my hand shot to my pocket and unsheathed Backbiter. "NO. IMPOSSIBLE" Kronos exclaimed as I immediately began to relentlessly attack him. This time Kronos was at the disadvantage. I was wielding his symbol of power which he seemed terrified of.
Kronos had managed to block my onslaught for what felt like hours until I managed to land a left side feint while using my momentum to spin and kick him in the chest effectively sitting him on his butt, with the scythe scattered ten yards to my right.
"This is impossible, you are not this powerful" screamed Kronos as I shoved Backbiter through his heart to which he began to slowly fade.
"End of the line grandfather. If the Olympians could banish me at least I finished my mission" I said.
"You have bested me when I could barely form a body. After 500 years I man- managed to reform just to lose to your startup ass once again. Congratulations Jackson, you are the new lord of time, surely even your tiny brain can understand defeating an immortal with their own symbol of power gets you this."
"WHAT!?"
"Fu- Fuck y- ou" and those were Kronos' last words.
-AN-
First, all rights and recognizable events, characters, objects, etc. are Rick Riordan's.
Well, that was fun. I'm trying to set us up for quite a story here.
To all readers and future readers, welcome!
I have read hours upon hours of FF and I have finally decided to write one myself.
Some things to expect:
I am a huge fan of OP Percy, so that is bound to happen as seen through this first chapter.
Also, I really like the Percy x Piper matchup for some reason. Maybe it's because I haven't read the actual books in quite a long time and I have been warmed up to the FF version of her, idk. If I get enough reviews against this however, it can be changed. The only thing I am completely against is Percabeth because Riordan did that and he did it well, I don't need to redo it.
I don't think Chaos will come up in this story. I want to save that can of worms for a sequel if I A. manage to finish this one and B. Percy can't be the strongest person in his universe quite yet. I mean what's the fun in getting rid of all the enemies immediately?
This will initially be uploaded as a T story since it loosely fits that category right now, but at some point, will become M just fyi. I'm a big swearing guy. Good for the soul and expressing exactly how you feel.
I'd like to thank all those authors who have come before me and have given me inspiration to write. Never thought I'd actually do this.
Shouting out some specific authors below who are just incredible:
Nutsofthechest
Starblade176
Don Socrates
vPxForerunner x
and:
Anaklusmos14
He is just completely in a league of his own.
If you haven't checked out their stories, I recommend you do.
Read and Review!