For years Percy Jackson has been warned about the Titans, about the lengths they're willing to go to to end Olympus. Yet it's only after it happens, when Manhattan is burning around him, that he realises that is only the beginning. With the gods now gone and the Titans hunting down the survivors, it's up to the demigods to keep Olympus standing.
Chapter 1 - Skyfall
Percy had been told what would happen should the Titans win.
The conversation he'd had with Chiron, about the consequences should he choose wrong, echoed through his head repeatedly. Percy had been unable to understand how the gods could expect a group of teenagers to hold off the Titan Lord and his army, or how they could simply arm those teenagers and send them off to fight with a pat on the back. The gods expected them to fight their battles for them, they always had and Percy knew they were fighting Typhoon, but he couldn't help wanting to punch Zeus in the face for this.
Percy hadn't quite understood what Chiron had meant, what would happen to the world should they fail to stop Kronos.
As the son of Poseidon jumped off Olympus, aiming for a river far below, he still didn't understand what had just happened. Only recalled the crooked smile that had split across Luke's face, the cracks in his skin that bled pure light and made it difficult to look at him, and the split-second Percy had as Hestia had called out a warning to him before he was falling from Olympus.
Percy turned when the night shifted into day, perhaps only on instinct to protect his back from the imminent eruption, and so he found himself staring up at the Eternal City as a supernova exploded into being from within the Hall of the gods itself and split the very sky apart. The shockwave hit him next, a blast of heat and force slamming him back through the air to crash into one of Manhattan's rivers.
As Percy fell, he saw the comet bursting from Olympus and heading west just before the river swallowed him.
Still, as Percy sank through the river and watched the distorted shimmer display the brilliant and burning light that spread over the horizon, he didn't understand even then what had just happened.
Percy pushed himself from the river, landing completely dry on the sidewalk. The sky overhead, where it should only be the beginning of sunrise, was tinged a bloody red. A speck of dust landed on Percy's bare hand, and his eyes furrowed slightly. Like the mortals around him, pointing up at the sky above Manhattan as hushed murmurs and shocked exclamations echoed down the suddenly-active street, he turned his gaze higher to watch Olympus burn.
It was more than clear that the mortals could see it too, and Percy ducked his head to see the ash starting to cover the pavement. Percy's mouth ran dry, the sight of flames – both red and green, no doubt Kronos had caused a cache or two of Greek fire to explode too – climbing up the side of the mountain enough to kick his brain back into gear.
Annabeth. Grover. Thalia.
Along with countless other nymphs and beings whom called Olympus their home, no doubt there was a mass panic amongst those trapped on the mountain as it burned. Screams rang in his ears, though Percy couldn't know if they were memories of the chaos that had occurred recently on the streets of Manhattan, or echoes from the Eternal City above him.
Percy shoved his way through the panicking mortals, trying to ignore them as he bolted back in the direction of the Empire State Building.
"What is that-?"
"Run!"
"We're all gonna die!"
An entire group of mortals had simply dropped to their knees praying in the street, muttering under their breaths about the end of the world and the apocalypse. Percy bit his tongue, holding back from telling them all that there was no point praying now – the Titans were the only ones whom would answer from now on and Percy wasn't keen on finding out how they'd do so.
Only two streets over, Percy found the first of the survivors stumbling over a melted and twisted metal strut, steam curling into the clouded air as they scorched their hands on the hot metal. The skyscraper above them groaned and creaked, and Percy watched as a block of concrete crumbled down. He flung himself between the shattered block and the limping demigod, stumbling as he caught the shards with his invulnerable body.
"Hey," Percy said, his jaw clenching. Several burns were spread over the demigod's body, and Percy took a deep breath. "Where are you hurt?" He asked, gaze wandering down the street where the demigod came from. As he watched, a building two hundred meters or so from them tilted dangerously, threatening to collapse at any second. "Where's everyone else?" He asked as he dug around for a block of ambrosia. Percy fumbled, his fingers trembling and his eyes burning. "Where-" Percy swallowed, his heart crawling into his throat and his voice shaking. "Shit," Percy whispered finally, gaze turning back to the other demigod in time for him to crumple. Percy swore again, fear clawing at his chest as he scrambled to the demigod's side only to see he was dead. Smoke curled from the demigod's skin beneath his armour, blotched and visible burns over his face where his helm had half-melted and fused to the flesh of his forehead and left cheek. Percy was amazed that he'd managed to get this far. He paused when he noted the demigod's twisted and melted armour, the scythe emblazoned on the chest plate only half visible. Percy took a deep breath, and promptly choked on the dust and ash. He groaned, slamming his fist into the road beneath him. He hit a shard of broken glass, but it simply shattered against his invulnerable skin.
Percy shook, sitting back as he heard another building collapse and an explosion elsewhere and finally heard distant alarms, though what the police or the fire department intended to do here Percy wasn't sure. Percy had been prophesied to stop Kronos, and even he couldn't do it – though how the gods had expected him to face an immortal the likes of Kronos and win, Percy wasn't quite sure.
Olympus was still burning steadily overhead, fire rapidly overtaking the entire city and bathing Manhattan with light. A wild storm was picking up and causing the skyscrapers around Percy to creak and sway overhead as Typhoon approached with fewer gods to stop his advance.
They had to get out of the city. Percy forced himself to his feet and kept moving.
Percy found that the mortals had mostly left this area, fleeing for what they felt was safer ground. He felt like laughing – nowhere was safe anymore with Kronos having won. This was only the epicentre, only the beginning of Kronos' path of destruction.
Closer to the Empire State Building, the streets were strewn with rubble from skyscrapers and Olympus alike. Percy noted the blackened and twisted marble that had formerly been part of Artemis' temple, judging from what half of an image remained. Bodies were buried beneath, one beneath the slab from Artemis' temple, and Percy tried not to linger on the twisted faces – he didn't even want the chance to recognise any of the bodies. Olympus had taken the vast majority of the impact from Kronos' true form, deflecting it away from the city below, but that hardly meant that Manhattan was untouched – and Percy would rather not know what Olympus looked like if the semi-protected streets beneath were this horrible.
Percy heard voices yelling from in front of him, a group of demigods from the sound of it. He picked up the pace, taking out Riptide despite the urge to drop his sword and take cover for the rest of his short, insignificantly mortal life. Instead, Percy kept the blade raised and barely reacted in time as a hellhound – matted with golden dust and blood – bounded around a corner and tried to bite him in half. Riptide carved a gash from muzzle to ear and the hellhound imploded before it could yelp. Percy flinched, brushing the monster dust off – it felt and looked too similar to the ash still raining down on them and he shuddered. Even that little yelp made him want to dive for the sewers.
"Percy?"
Percy's gaze, wild and terrified, snapped over towards the familiar voice and his breath caught slightly at the recognisable face. "Nico?" The son of Hades had blood caking one side of his face, his jacket was slashed and torn and hanging off him and he generally looked like shit. "Shit, Nico – I – I failed-"
"We know," Nico said, looking equally as surprised to see Percy as Percy was to see him. He seemed floored in a different sense though, pale and shaking nearly as much as Percy. "We failed. It's hard to miss."
Percy swallowed. "How many dead-"
For a moment, sheer horror flickered across Nico's dark eyes. "You don't want to know," he finally said, tone flat. "Come on. Let's get you to the others."
Others. Hope flared, for a sharp, brief moment. "How many?"
"So far, including you and me?" Nico's jaw clenched. "Fourteen. And only because my father, Demeter and Persephone shielded those of us closest to him."
Fourteen. Fourteen demigods left, out of the forty whom had arrived in Manhattan.
That hope, which had surged at hearing of other survivors, was smothered in an instant. "Right," Percy whispered. "Ok. Annabeth-"
A flicker of pain crossed Nico's eyes and he hunched in on himself slightly. Percy wondered if he was hurt beyond the scratches on his face. "I don't know," he said. "But we've got to go before even more collapses."
"We need to find them," Percy said stubbornly with a flash of indignation.
"How do you know they're even alive?" Nico demanded.
"Well – are they?" Percy asked the son of Hades.
Nico scowled slightly. "Yeah," he said. "I think so. They're flickering."
Flickered was never a good thing, Percy knew, so he nodded and gestured for Nico to guide the way. His thoughts flashed back to the demigod from Kronos' army who'd stumbled into his past. "What about demigods from Kro-"
"No," Nico said sharply. "I – I don't think saying his name is a good idea. Especially not now."
Right, of course. Percy felt rather irritated at his slip, despite knowing what had happened. What Kronos would do should he hear his name. "Ok. What about his demigods? I found one on my way here, but…"
Nico could guess what happened to that demigod, not that it was particularly hard. "Maybe. Some might be alive, but I know Hades didn't try particularly hard to shield them. Better off if they die for what they've done."
Percy glanced to the side, frowning slightly at Nico. Sure, those demigods had allowed all of this to happen, but Percy would have known some of them. Some of them were his friends. "I'd prefer to try to save them."
Nico scowled. "Come on," he said. The air was thicker as they advanced towards the Empire State building. Percy noted the Greek fire dancing down it's side, smoke billowing from the shattered windows. His next breath was a mouthful of ash and dust and he retched, pulling up the front of his shirt to try to stop himself from inhaling it.
Percy didn't know how many bodies they passed before they came down Fifth Avenue, the Empire State building creaking and swaying in the wind still picking up speed. It was when a flash of blue caught Percy's eye that his breath caught despite the covering over his mouth. "No," Percy muttered, his eyes landing on Paul's Prius, the same one he'd last seen his parents near before he'd chased Kronos up to Olympus.
The son of Poseidon was sprinting across the distance, ducking under metal supports and his shoes slipping over concrete rubble before he'd even fully registered the sight next to it. Percy's eyes burned almost as much as his mother's body. Turned towards her was Paul, both of them near unrecognisable with their burnt and melted skin.
Percy shut his eyes, Riptide slipping from his fingers. The sound of the sword hitting the twisted concrete made his ears ring as it echoed down the street.
"Shit," Nico breathed. The Empire State building groaned overhead, dust and ash falling over them as a piece of the outer layer of the building peeled away and crashed to the ground somewhere in the clouded street. The ash and dust in the air made it difficult to see much. "Percy – I'm sorry," he said, hesitating briefly. From anyone else that may seem like nothing, a common response to a death. But as the son of Hades, Nico seemed more genuine than most – perhaps because he'd lost his sister a few years prior.
Percy said nothing, instead cursing the River Styx for making him invulnerable. That and the water instantly healing him had kept him alive, though his legs threatened to give way beneath him now and he wasn't quite sure why.
Percy wished that Kronos' true form had killed him on Olympus. At least then he wouldn't have to know his mother had been killed.
The demigod considered saying Kronos' name, getting his attention – no doubt the Titan Lord would be on alert for any mentions of himself and would react according. Perhaps Kronos would give him a quick death.
"I wouldn't if I were you," Nico quietly said, somehow being able to guess what Percy was thinking. "I doubt he will leave the Underworld to its own devices – any demigods and heroes will probably be sent straight to Punishment after death."
"I don't think it'll matter," Percy said, his voice breaking slightly, still not taking his eyes away from his mother and Paul. "We're all screwed either way."
It was a small group which gathered in Central Park. Nico made a beeline straight for his father whom was in deep discussion with Demeter, Hestia and Persephone. Burnt and scared demigods stared at Percy as he passed, and Percy tried to not count the number of third degree burns or broken limbs that he could see. Hestia was crouched, hands gently pressing against Thalia's broken leg – from the looks of it, she'd barely avoided being incinerated from Kronos' true form. Next to Thalia was Annabeth, leaning back against a large rock and trembling slightly, though from pain or something else Percy didn't know. Percy's heart lifted when he saw her, nearly bursting into tears then and there in his relief. Hestia's smile towards Percy was small and tired, not quite reaching her eyes. Demeter and Persephone flatly ignored him, though Hades more than made up for their lack of emotion with a fierce glower in Percy and Nico's direction.
Still, the god hardly even paused before continuing their conversation. "-to the Underworld! It's safe there. Should have never even left."
"I told you-"
"It's good to see you alive," Percy murmured to Annabeth, moving away from Nico so he could settle next to her. "I – I was worried-"
"Shush, sister," Hestia said softly, her palm glowing as she healed Thalia's broken leg. Demeter pursed her lips together, but surprisingly did as Hestia requested.
Annabeth's smile was pained, sad. Percy didn't know how close she had been to Kronos when he'd exploded, but if was obvious that Luke was gone. No doubt Annabeth would be mourning him despite everything that he'd done. Percy held his tongue from telling her about Sally and Paul, there wasn't any point in piling more onto her. "It's good to see you alive too, Seaweed Brain."
"The Underworld is no safer than it will be elsewhere," Hestia continued, paying no heed of the quiet conversation between the demigods.
Thalia's expression was grim, eyes flicking between the four of them. "Somehow. So many have died, I-"
"Nature spirits too," Grover mumbled. The satyr looked furious, not that Percy could blame him. If his mother and step-father weren't half-unrecognisable he might be just as angry. As it was, Percy only felt numb. In the fraction of a second, his entire life had just changed beyond his comprehension.
Hades' lip curled. "Not one of my subjects would dare to-"
"I do not mean your subjects, but father's," Hestia reprimanded. "You have… one of his brothers in the Underworld, yes?"
Iapetus, or Bob. Percy's eyes furrowed slightly, but Nico beat him to it. "Bob wouldn't," he firmly said. "He's a friend."
Hestia's expression saddened even further and she craned her head up to Olympus as she rose from healing Thalia. "It seems that very few are our friends these days, it would be wise to trust no one you cannot be sure of from now on. Father's return to his true form would have empowered his brothers most of all. It is quite likely that… Bob remembers whom he is. Returning to the Underworld is too risky. We need a place that Father cannot See us. Camp Half-Blood already has the wards needed to keep his eyes out."
Even Percy knew that was a bad idea, so he firmly shook his head and tried to forget that he was saying no to a goddess. "He knows where Camp is because of Luke," Percy said, not even trying to keep the bitterness from his face.
"See?" Hades demanded. "Even Jackson knows it's a terrible idea!"
"Father has his own problems to deal with at Othrys," Hestia said to Hades, as if there was something they knew that the demigods before them didn't. "He will not return here for several more hours at the very least. We can use that time to return to Camp Half-Blood and attempt to find out whom still lives. Then we escape into the Labyrinth."
Percy flinched at the memory of his own adventure in the Labyrinth. He wasn't fond of a repeat. "I thought it was destroyed?"
Nico nodded slightly. "It was. When I killed Daedalus-"
"The Labyrinth is greater than that mortal ever was," Hades scorned. "While Daedalus' death damaged some of the structure, the Labyrinth has had it's own magic and structure for many years already. It only took a matter of weeks before it was possible for it to begin expanding once again."
"It could work," Persephone said carefully. She still hadn't acknowledged the existence of either Percy or Nico. "If we're fast."
"Time isn't exactly on our side anymore," Demeter agreed grimly.
Hestia however sighed, looking more disappointed than anything else. "Was he ever?" She murmured.
Hades stiffened sharply, turning furious eyes towards Hestia, but whatever he was going to say he never managed since a column of fire abruptly shot into the air over the trees not particularly far from where they were all camped.
Percy tensed as the demigods stirred, all turning towards the blast. Grover paled. "Ah, about his brothers getting stronger when he took his true form?" Percy asked. "Does that mean all of them?"
Hestia's gaze turned fierce. She straightened, an abrupt change seeming to come over her. "Hades, you know the plan. I expect you to guide the demigods to safety. Only there can we plan to take back Olympus."
"With what army?" Demeter muttered bitterly, though she held out her hand and a scythe that was eerily similar to the one Kronos had been wielding formed before her.
"The dead?" Persephone offered, summoning a sword to hand.
Hades looked furious, evidently the plan wasn't one he liked. Not that Percy could blame him, he didn't like the god either. But the god turned his head towards the demigods whom had all stirred and stood up, looking to the immortals for answers. "We are leaving," Hades snapped at them.
Percy felt a hand slip into his, and glanced over to Nico in surprise. "Shadow travel," Nico supplied. "Fastest way out."
Just before they all sank back into a shadow, the Titan Hyperion stepped out from the treeline. His body was on fire, the trees catching in his path and crackling flames reaching into the smoke-filled sky. He was stronger, Percy realised in horror as the three goddesses moved to stand between him and the demigods.
Hyperion's lip curled in disgust when he noticed Percy. "You will pay for what you did," he promised, eyes burning like twin suns. "Perhaps Kronos will let me torture you before he has you executed for treason."
Percy didn't have time to respond, since shadow travel swallowed the world around him. But he did notice the sun peeking over the horizon, rays reflecting off the dancing dust and ash in the air as it painted the red sky a myriad of different colours. Even the sky was bleeding as the sun dawned on a new age.
Firstly: I've been absent for a while, and that will probably continue for another 2/3 weeks, sorry. This was bugging me for a few months so I decided to just finish the chapter and post it, and give myself yet another fic to write. But it'll be fun. Promise.
Secondly: there will be blood, and there will be character deaths. Canon characters, and non-canon. Everyone - Sally and Paul are only the first.
Thirdly (and last) : I've wanted to write a Kronos like this for a while instead of the tamer version I usually write. I hope you all start to hate him over the course of this fic. So... as always, let me know what you think!