"Yes Zeus, we're almost there. The place where the five rivers of the underworld meet." Kronos said
"Your commentary isn't needed father." Zeus answered.
"Well it's much better than you being silent the entire time."
"I'm holding the person who wanted to eat me. There is a distinct lack of small talk topics."
"You're a hypocrite." Kronos said.
"Pardon me?"
"You heard me. The thing you so hate me for? You've done time and time again. It is the reason you're in this mess now. A prophecy. What makes us so different." Kronos said. "I have the excuse that I didn't even know you or what that would mean. But you? You watched that Demigod lead armies for you. He stood against me for you, He stood against your grandmother for you. But the second you got the prophecy you decided none of that mattered. At least I had the decency to be unknowing."
" You're wrong." Zeus said. " I took what he was capable of and what the prophecy said to make my decision. Olympus cannot fall."
"Why? Because Olympus is some pillar of purity and good? Please you're all flawed just like us Titans the only difference is we didn't try to pretend we were good during the first war we just wanted to safeguard what was ours; the world. That is what you're doing now. That is what I will help you do. I refuse to lose to that boy again."
"We have arrived." Before the King of the gods was a ledge that dipped off into a cliff. Below him was the swirling mess of the 5 rivers. The Lethe, milky white, The Phlegaton made of literal fire. The cocytus, a powdery blue. The river Acheron, an angry shade of blue. The River Styx a deep grey. The swirl was a scene that many entities got to witness.
"Good throw me-" Before Kronos could finish his sentence Zeus chucked the bottle that held the spirit of the lord of the Titans into the swirling vortex of the five rivers.
Kronos was not having a good time. It was one thing to be sliced to pieces. It was another to have your soul ripped from a vessel. This was an entirely different experience. He was plagued with a cascade of stimuli both physical and emotional. He felt the burn of the Phlegaton, The freeze of the Cocytus. He felt the mind destroying agony of the Acheron and the hopelessness of the Styx and the Lethe wiped his mind and made him go through it all again. Eventually he felt nothing and when he opened his eyes he was staring at a mirror version of himself. He watched the atrocities he commited, the acts that defined him, the wars he waged and lost, and torture he applied. His mirror self looked at him in his golden eyes and asked a simple question.
"Who are you?" Kronos hesitated and looked down at his hands as they began dissolving. Then his feet. His entire body was breaking down, dissolving in the vortex.
"Who are you." The mirror image asked once more.
"I-I-I AM KRONOS. I AM THE LAST BORN OF GAEA WHO BECAME THE GREATEST. I AM THE TITAN OF TIME AND HE BANISHED A PRIMORDIAL FROM THIS WORLD. I AM THE CROOKED ONE. I AM FOCUS. I AM AMBITION. I AM KRONOS!" With a yell golden light gathered around the lord of the titans and the dissolved parts of his body came back. On the shore Zeus looked in awe as golden light exploded from the vortex, separating the 5 rivers of the Underworld and spitting the spirit of Kronos in front of him.
"Father?"
"I am whole once more now I just need a body for now."
"What happened down there."
"I lost sight of who I was for a moment. But that will never happen again. Where did you say that base was?" Kronos said as he began using his finger to write in the air, golden letters appearing where he drew.
"New Brunswick, Canada. What are you doing?"
"I'm sending a brother of mine on an errand. Lets go."
"Where are we going?"
"Alaska." Kronos answered. Zeus stopped and paled. "Oh don't look so surprised I know all about the deal you struck with those maggots. I'm only joking of course my new host is in California."
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Nereus was living the life. It had been almost 120 years since some demigod had tried to catch him for the sake of stealing his knowledge. 120 years of finally being at peace. No sooner had he thought this did he feel the full weight of what had to be the world's strongest demigod hold him.
"Nereus! Its' been ages how are ya buddy?"
"You? How did you get out of Tartarus?" Nereus asked. Percy laughed as he held the old king.
"Well would you look at that? Something I know that you don't?" As Percy said this Zoe and the demigods ran up to meet him.
"Oh perfect, an audience for my humiliation."
"Percy no fair you said I could catch him!" Abi said.
"Next time don't fall asleep. Anywho Nereus I need to know how to get to Ogygia without the help of an olympian and without Odyseus's astrolabe"
"Ogygia is a separate dimension, if you want to get there you'd have to rip through it at one of its weak points."
"Hmmmm and where's the closest weak point?"
"Only one answer per capture! Those are the rules!"
"Fine." Percy said as he released the old king. Before Nereus could think Zoe snatched him and held him in a tight bear hug."
"Where is the closest weak point?" Zoe asked
"Fine that would be Mt. Diablo, the area still hasn't healed from having a giant occupy it all those centuries ago."
"Thank you!" Zoe said cheerfully as she released the hostage.
"See kids, that's called diplomacy. Onward to mount devil." Percy said.
When the five arrived, the spatial distortion was more than noticeable. Birds were flying and crashing into what appeared to be an invisible wall. Percy walked up to it and touched the hard air.
"Just you wait Thalia, I'll get you out soon. Guys? Take a step back." Percy said. Immediately his three children hid behind Zoe, their heads peeking over to see their father work. Percy drew entropy and took a deep breath. Slowly black fire spread along the blade. Percy lifted the sword and brought it down in a swing that sliced the mountain in half. The hard air shattered and revealed a twisting vortex.
"Welp are you all ready to meet your aunt?" The three demigods nodded nervously as they stepped through the portal followed by Zoe and finally, Percy. Percy took the lead as he best recognized the beach they were on. Advancing up the slope the group came to an open hut where a single figure was tending a fire, her spiky black hair had grown long in the centuries he'd been gone but her eyes still held the same rebellion that made them family. Slowly the figure noticed them. Immediately she grabbed her spear before tilting her head and dropping it. Her hands went to her mouth as tears began to form. Without question Percy sprinted to her and she to him as they met in an all consuming hug.
"Percy?"
"Hey Thals."
"I knew you'd come for me."
"Of course I did." Still embracing until a cough separated them. Thalia looked through teary eyes to see Zoe with her arms out.
"Zoe? Gods above Zoe!" Thalia yelled as she embraced her sister with gusto. "How are you alive? How is Percy out of Tartarus? Why does he have stars in his eyes? What the hell is going on."
You might want to have a seat for this. A full hour went by as Percy explained everything that had happened in the last 600 years. Thalia looked visibly shaken at all the information.
"So Artemis is really gone huh." Thalia said.
"Yes. I killed her myself." Zoe answered. Thalia nodded and pondered
"And Percy you took out Mars/Ares."
"Yes ma'am."
"How do you think Frank is going to take it."
"I don't have to care. According to Athena Frank and the rest of the 7 chose to fade."
"I see. And now you're going to take out the rest of the gods."
"Accurate."
"You've changed so much Percy, not just the Son of Chaos stuff, you seem very together."
"Thanks Thals."
"So. These are the kids huh?" Thalia said. Wale, Abi and Sarah smiled and waved.
"Oh stop it we're family! I'm you Aunt get in here." Thalia gathered the three generals into a tight bear hug.
"You guys are so cool I hear you killed some minor gods and beat up Mars, yup I like you guys already." Thalia said proudly.
"Percy, there is something you should know though." Thalia said. Percy visibly rolled his eyes.
"What on earth happened."
"Well it's more who tbh honest."
"Thalia you were right the fish pond was a great idea. I have like-" The owner of the voice stopped cold his tracks. Then ran full speed and tackled Percy. His messy black hair, the black clothing, the skull ring on his finger. Percy's eyes began to water once more at the sight of someone who he thought faded with the rest of the seven. Instantly Percy wrapped his arms around his cousin.
"Nico."
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Ethan had taken Percy's words of no slacking on training to heart. Using the time dilation training hall he put the demigods through training similar to what the Assassins of Chaos went through and it was hell. Body weight exercises, sparring, target practice, weight training and even having luke slow time within the room further and flaring their power to put pressure on the demigods. If the demigods that sided with olympus wanted to kill any one of his trainees they would need at least 200 allies. Yep one of Percy's demigods would be equal to 200 of Olympus's. The next training was something he saw Jason do. It couldn't hurt to try it with these kids. Ethan told Luke his plans and Luke simply laughed and said he would love to give it a try. Ethan gathered the children and had them sit down while he explained.
"The technique that i'm about to demonstrate is very hard to understand and it's even harder to pull off. I've been informed that your generals have done it but still can't control it completely. The technique works by breaking the dimensional barrier and tapping into the limitless cosmic power of the residue left by Chaos when she created the cosmos." The looks of confusion told Ethan that he wasn't talking to warriors who had been alive for centuries. Luke's cough laugh in the background did not help.
"Okay, okay. So all of you are related to Zeus." The nodding told him he was onto something. "That means that you're all related to Kronos and Gaea. This means you're all related to Chaos and as such have a spark of her within you. We just need to draw it out. Percy, as a child of Chaos herself, literally leaks cosmic energy unless he suppresses it. He must have let it slip while training those 3. Luke and I will go around and pump all of you full of our energy to get the process going then we'll work with tapping into it. Sounds good?" All the demigods present nodded enthusiastically. Ethan almost smiled until Luke grabbed his shoulder and looked east.
Ethan looked at Luke and instantly melted into the shadows, he reappeared about a mile east of the base and saw it. A giant warrior in golden armor with flames for eyes who seemed to shine with the light of a sun. Flames licked off his armor and the ground burned in his presence.
"Hyperion." Ethan said
"Nakamura." Hyperion answered
"I never thought you'd attack a group trying to take down Olympus."
"Things have changed."
"I see. So let me guess your here to murder everyone else." Ethan remarked
"You always did catch on quickly." Hyperion said drawing his sword
"If you take another step I will kill you and offer your remains to night." Ethan growled
"As if you could ever." The Titan said. Hyperion faltered when a dark smile played on the lips of the former demigod. Ethan looked at Hyperion with pitch black eyes.
"Come then and face your death Titan."
And just like that I have given you another chapter. Thank you thank you. I know it's not an easy feat. In all seriousness though the reviews i've gotten really have me fired up for writing. I can't wait for you guys to see what I have planned next. Please read and review. I will literally answer any questions. Later,
Peacoat.