As promised, I got the next chapter done on time. I also managed to write the next chapter in the past week. Pimp. No offense to guest reviewers, I love you, but it sucks when I cannot message you to reply to a review. I have to wait an entire week. Just to say something I wrote was not a grammatical error, I meant to type it like that. Le sigh. I went back over the entire story, looking for any loose ends I haven't wrapped up yet, and I was pleased to find that I could not find any. I mean, if there is one that you know of, feel free to point it out. Unless it's a recent chapter, then I just haven't come around to addressing it.

Now let's talk about important stuff. Choke has an end date. It should be ending next month, estimating September 16th, give or take a chapter. Bragi and I ran it over, and it'll end with about 20 chapters, 21 if you count the epilogue. I know, you're all sad, but Choke has run on a basic plot line, with a few minor ones. The sequel is complex, meaning it will last longer due to more plot lines. I can also tell you that I mentioned the sequel in at least two chapters of Choke, three including one of the plot lines. I have the rest of the story pretty much entirely planned out, I know how it will end. The ending is big, possibly shocking, and will be great. Anyways, let's do shout outs.

Lucy: Thank you! I'd never make Nico normal. What fun would that be? It was fine, I enjoy writing, and I like to ramble.

AzucenaXshadows: Lol. That's my job, to pump you up. I'm glad you thought so. I'd never be so cruel, but I did want to make you wonder.

Guest: Haha. Thank you. I liked that line as well, to give a sense of hopelessness.

Luckyducky: I would never. No, no they will not. Well, they do fight them at the end of the chapter, with a surprise guest.

iPineapplePants: No issue with me. I'm gay, you can be gay, let's all be gay together. A knack for what?

HeyItsAmber: You seem to have a lot of breathing issues with my chapters lately, I wonder why that is. He will always be a badass. Pfft. Nico will never be overly sub. I know that Nico from the books is a dominate bottom, though I feel that a lot of fangirls may not understand that concept. Nope. I try to stay as close to their characters as possible.

DrunkOnCookies: That's what I say when I eat cookies. Well, without the update part. I feel like I addressed this saying just a few days ago...now I must go look at my other reviews. Oh yes, CoL. How could I forget?

Veerayne: I'd never be so cruel. I'm a trickster. That would be no fun. I just made him mentally stable. Well, let me know what you think of them after this chapter.

Reining: Oh, that was just the idea. The name just came from a song. I just couldn't think of an actual name, so I went with that song, which actually fit pretty well with the theme that was playing in my head. Yes, well he had to go away forever. Besides the one more time I have planned, using a memory. See, I'm just the opposite. I was raised Marvel. DC is fine, but I only really like Batman. Superman is just too...perfect for me. I guess that's the word. Batman is just more appealing to me. I just picture him with shaggy hair, not necessarily that long, but hanging into his eyes. Haha. Well, it sadly is not in my plan to bring it back into the present, only flashbacks. If Nico got stuck in that, he wouldn't be a very good boyfriend, and he'd probably kill himself. Since I'm sure you don't want that, I must refrain from having Nico insane anymore.

DarkLove: Apparently everyone did. I figured everyone would squeal with excitement. That's like the nicest review I might have gotten. Someone wanting to be like me. Well then it shall be a saga.

FireAngel5683: Hmm. Interesting idea, we'll see. Perhaps I might make a prequel in the future. From Nico's POV. From before he gains his power, the death of his parents, his fallout with Luke, and his journey through U.N.I.T. I could lead it up to when he gets the assignment for Percy. Oh damn. I just got an idea. Thanks for that. But I'll have to think that one over.

RobinsArt: It's witchcraft. I'm sure Percy and Nico can handle them. Good job, and we did prevail.

Make-It-Now: I know, right? It sort of seems like just yesterday I started, but in reality it was several months ago.

Happykid44: Or is he? No, he's ok. I'm sorry T.T. I wrote it as fast as I could, but I don't want to run out of buffer. That's the purpose of my other stories. To help ease the pain of waiting an entire week, everyone should go read all my stuff so they don't have to wait so long. If by good you mean try to rape Nico, sure. Actually I haven't decided that part yet.

Awesome older sibling: Perhaps it's the fact that they are interrupting her transmission. Yes, I have plans for her. Lol. No. It's just a scan. All he has to do is lie there and a beam of light runs over his body. Damn if I know. I haven't designed the suits yet. I felt the same when they killed my Druid's tree form. Yes, Jesus reads my fics. He has blessed them and that's why they are doing so well now. Lol. I can just picture Athena videotaping it. Yea, I guess that was a bit of a stretch, but I had to work the time frame.

LizziDaughterofHades: I'd never do it. Well, besides one more memory of it, but that's it. I always aim to please.

Dear god. No Awesome older sibling, I am not writing a review to God. So many people were worried I was going to take away Nico's powers. Nico. My favorite character in the books. Don't make me laugh. It feels so weird writing Choke now, knowing that things are soon to end. End until the sequel anyways. I have a lot to cover in the last few chapters. A lot of interesting things. So I tried to look at Dragon Age fanfiction yesterday, cause I had a desire to read slash stories of Morrigan's child and some guy, sadly the child is not an optional character on this site. Not much else to say I guess, on with the chapter.

Warning:

Disclaimer: Warning was written in invisible ink to hide the massive spoiler that I put there.

Chapter 16

Percy stood in a training room that his parents had shown him. Apparently, they used it to test their weaponry, but they also thought it would help him hone his powers. A few days had passed since the antigen had been administered, and Nico's powers were slowly starting to return to him. Nico was frustrated by the fact that his powers would work one moment and wouldn't the next. Percy's parents said it could take up to two weeks for his powers to recover. Percy raised his hand to block a blast from one of his parents' sentinels. The blast erupted against the forcefield he had raised. He glanced over at Nico, who sat against a wall, watching Percy practice.

"You're getting pretty good," Nico called over to him, Percy grinned back at him. "You're going to need to keep working on that if you're going to fight Kronos. You have to make sure you can shield yourself from one of his explosions."

Percy nodded. "I'm trying. It just takes a lot of concentration," Percy responded. Nico smiled at him. "I figured this would be easier for me. Aren't we supposed to be Omegas?"

Nico laughed and stood up. He walked up behind Percy and wrapped his arms around Percy's neck. "It doesn't mean you're going to obliterate everything in the blink of an eye. It just means you have a bit more power than the others. You have to master your abilities all the same." Percy turned around and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist.

"I don't know, I just thought it might come naturally, or something."

Nico chuckled and placed a kiss on the corner of Percy's mouth before moving away from Percy. "Nope. You can't have the power that comes with being an Omega if you don't work at it. It's like working your muscles. You go to the gym and lift weights to make them stronger. You need to keep working on this to become stronger," Nico explained. Percy waved at him as he headed for the door and left Percy to train some more.

Percy sighed and went back to practicing. Chiron told him this would be the best way to prepare for a fight with Kronos. Percy was not sure when he would be forced to fight the man, but he had the feeling that it would be soon. He telekinetically raised the difficulty level yet again on the practice sentinel. He had continued to raise it whenever he became comfortable with being able to block the robot's attack. He needed to keep pushing himself. He needed to get better if he was going to do this.

After another hour of practicing, Percy shut the sentinel down and walked over to grab his towel. He was covered in sweat, but did not feel like quitting just yet. He bent over and picked up a bottle of blue powerade he had brought down with him, taking a long drink from it. He slung his towel over his shoulder and made his way over to a punching bag he had hung in the corner. He needed to perfect his body and mind if he was going to do this. Chiron had said he could probably combine his telekinesis with the fighting styles that Percy already knew, perhaps giving him an advantage.

Percy threw a few jabs at the punching bag, trying to focus his energy on his fist. Perhaps if he could put some telekinetic force behind his physical assaults, it could play to his advantage. Concentrating, Percy threw another punch. The bag swung backwards and Percy held it in the air. He could pull off a combo like this. Attack, powers, and attack again while they are defenseless. He threw a kick through the air, cutting the bag. Percy smiled to himself. He could focus his telekinesis to help him if he missed too. He figured he could manage to create several methods of combining his powers and combat styles. His telepathy could probably help him as well. He could always force the person to stand still while he attacked, but that would take a bit of concentration.

The doors swung open and Jason entered the training room. He tossed Percy a wave as he made his way over to the taller boy. "You've been down here a while," Jason remarked, setting his own water bottle and towel down on the ground next to Percy's.

Percy shrugged. "I need to be stronger. We can't afford to lose," Percy mumbled, taking another swing at the punching bag.

Jason patted Percy on the back as he went over to another punching bag. "Nico really appreciates what you're doing." Percy stopped punching to look at Jason. "He probably won't admit it, but he's glad you're doing this. I think he knows he won't be able to fight Kronos now, but he takes comfort in the fact that you will fight Kronos in his place."

"He killed Nico's parents, he deserves to die."

Jason nodded. "Just don't fall into darkness like Nico did. He became obsessed. He'll still fight Luke, I have no doubt about that."

"Will Nico kill him?"

Jason pursed his lips. "I don't know," Jason said exasperatedly. "Nico's hard to predict sometimes. Nico hates Luke now, but given their history, I don't know for sure. Would it matter to you if he did?"

Percy shook his head. "No, at least, I don't think so. I could understand if he did, if he felt it was something he had to do. I could never see Nico as a monster, if that's what you're asking."

"It's not. I was just checking, because it is a very likely possibility. Just like you'll likely have to kill Kronos."

Percy chewed on his lip and stared down at the floor. The thought had crossed his mind, but now it just seemed real. The time was close, and Percy did not even know if he was ready. "I'll do what I have to do."

"Kronos is a man that doesn't deserve mercy, Percy. He is an evil man. He's caused the suffering of thousands, if not millions, of people. He would kill you without hesitation or a second thought. You have to be able to do what has to be done when the time comes."

Percy let out a long sigh. "I know. I'm trying, but I'm not sure if someone can actually prepare themselves for something like this."

Jason clapped Percy on the shoulder, offering him a small smile. "I think you'll be ready when the time comes. Try talking to Nico, he was ready to do what had to be done, and that's why Chiron was so eager to find you."

"Because Nico was going to kill himself," Percy mumbled.

"Yea," Jason replied, nodding his head.

Percy glanced over at Jason, who had gone back to swinging wildly at his punching bag. Every now and then, Jason's punches would leave scorch marks from where electricity would shoot out of Jason's fists. "Jason?"

Jason stopped punching the bag and looked back at Percy. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you about Zeus?"

Jason huffed and rubbed at his knuckles. Sparks flew across his eyes as his eyes darkened at Percy. "He's not one of my favorite topics."

"I just wanted to know about your past. You talked about your home life before you joined U.N.I.T., and I just wanted to understand things better."

Jason sighed, looking resigned. He nodded his head slowly and picked up his water bottle, taking a long drink. "Zeus's job was just more important than his family. He gave me away shortly after I was born. My foster dad is actually a really great guy." Jason looked down at the floor. "It wasn't bad living with him until he married. The woman hated me. She called me a monster and a freak when my powers emerged. My dad didn't care, though. He said he would love me no matter what I was. It just became too much, though. So when Chiron came to find me, I knew I had to leave."

"Did you always know Zeus was your father?"

Jason shook his head. "No. I didn't find that out until I got to U.N.I.T. My dad had told me I was adopted, but he refused to talk about my biological father. Now that I know who it is, I'm glad he didn't want to tell me." Jason looked back up at Percy. "I have a sister. She-Our mother took her when she left Zeus. I never got to meet either of them. I don't even know why she didn't take me with her."

"Why not track her down?"

Jason chewed on his lip for a moment before replying. "I'm scared I guess. What if she didn't want me? I know that's why Zeus gave me away."

"What do you mean?" asked Percy, cocking his head to the side.

"I wasn't good enough for Zeus. I wouldn't develop into an Omega like him, so he said I wasn't good enough to be his son. He didn't want to have anything to do with me. He told Chiron to keep me out of his sight whenever the two of them dealt with each other."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, well, that's my father for you. I shudder to think what he'll do to U.N.I.T. now that he is in charge."

"Would it really be that bad?"

Jason chuckled dryly. "Think of him as a modern day Hitler, and I do mean that literally."

"That's really harsh, Jason."

Jason just shrugged. "Whatever. Believe what you want. Just be ready to fight when the time comes," Jason replied, gathering his things and heading for the door. He tossed a wave over his shoulder right before the doors shut behind him. Percy sighed and jabbed the punching bag one final time.

Nico made his way back into the lab, stopping when he saw Chiron talking to Percy's parents. They seemed to be arguing in hushed voices over something. Nico was about to walk over, when Chiron waved him off with a small gesture. Chiron's face did not seem happy with whatever Poseidon and Sally were talking to him about. Nico's eyebrows furrowed as he turned away from the scene. He stopped outside of his room, spotting Athena's projection working on Rachel's room.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked, stepping up to the hologram.

Athena turned her head and gave Nico an annoyed look. "If you must know, I am outfitting the rooms so that you can all have a small bit of privacy," Athena replied.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"You are here, and that is problem enough."

Nico narrowed his eyes. "You don't have to be a bitch about it, we didn't do anything wrong here."

"You mean, besides putting all of us at risk by harboring all of you? You are also from an organization that, while has good intentions, is willing to kill people to achieve its goals."

"Are you saying I'm a bad guy?"

"I am saying that you are morally grey. You will make the hard choices to get what you want. So no, I do not like you all being here."

"What makes you think we like being here any better?" Nico shot back.

"That is enough, Nico," Chiron said, having walked over to Nico and Athena. He frowned at the hologram, who just went back to work. Chiron led Nico inside Nico's room. Nico sat down on his bed and looked up at Chiron. Chiron waved his hand around the room.

Nico looked at him questioningly. "A forcefield?"

"I don't want anyone hearing what I'm about to say."

"Is it about that argument?" Chiron nodded. "What was that about?"

"It seems our hosts are not as hospitable as we believed. They seem to know everything about us."

"Everything?" Nico questioned.

"At least everything that can be found on file."

"So have Leo remove everything."

"We would have to get the files and hide them, Leo handed them over, remember?" Nico nodded grimly. "They don't seem to be fond of us."

"We were just following orders."

"Blindly."

"Do you regret it?"

"Some things, it keeps me up at night sometimes."

"But they wouldn't know that part," Nico reasoned.

"No they wouldn't. They only care about what we did, not our moral qualms."

"Are we in danger here?"

"I am not certain. We should remain on our guard." Nico nodded. "Just don't do anything to make them less trustful of us."

Nico nodded again. "I won't. I'll just be happy when we can get out of here."

"What if Percy chooses to stay?"

Nico bit his lip. "What are my options? I can't stay here when I don't feel welcome. It'll be hard, but I think I can still be with Percy."

The door to Nico's room opened again. Sally ran face first into an invisible wall. Chiron and Nico raised a hand each to hide their amused grins as the woman rubbed her forehead. "If you would be so kind as to remove this forcefield, Chiron," Sally stated, tossing Chiron a stern look. Chiron chuckled and snapped his finger. Sally huffed and walked into the room. "I'd like a word with Nico for a moment."

Chiron glanced at Nico, who nodded. Chiron walked out of the room without a word. Sally cleared her throat and clasped her hands in front of her. "What can I do for you?" Nico asked.

"I want to talk to you about your relationship with my son." Nico's face dropped. "Percy is old enough to make his own decisions, but that doesn't mean I have to like his choices."

"Did I do something to make you not like me?"

"You are not healthy for Percy." Nico raised an eyebrow at her. "You are emotionally unstable, power obsessed, and the condition you left your last boyfriend in does not speak well of you."

"I wouldn't hurt Percy."

"That has yet to be seen. I just want it to be clear that I do not approve of this. My husband may, but he isn't thinking like a parent, he is thinking like a scientist. I'm not going to tell Percy to break up with you, but I will be watching you very closely."

Nico scowled at Sally. "What makes you think I'm afraid of you?"

Sally chuckled. "I hardly think you are in any position to say such things right now. Your powers are currently flickering on and off. We could have removed them all together. The only reason we helped you was because Percy asked us to."

"I'm just trying to help Percy."

"And because of that, we are willing to let you stay. Percy would likely march to his death if he didn't have the help you all will be providing."

"So, we're just pawns in this for you," accused Nico.

"You're smarter than I gave you credit for."

"This is ridiculous. I haven't done anything to make you dislike me. I actually care about your son-"

"You care more about your powers. All of you have lived your lives for years with your powers, you rely on it, you need it. If you hadn't been on the verge of a complete breakdown, I don't think you'd have taken the antigen, even if that meant you couldn't be with my son."

"You don't know that," Nico whispered, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I took it because I had faith that Percy could beat Kronos. I took it because I want to be with your son. Yes, I had the reassurance that my objective would get taken care of, but that does not change the fact that I didn't do it for power. Your husband said it could mean losing my powers all together."

"It was a small chance. The odds were in your favor." Nico growled at her. "I just wanted us to be clear with each other. I'll be watching," she pulled a syringe out of her lab coat, "and if you hurt my son, I won't hesitate to take those precious powers of yours. One. Little. Poke." Nico flinched at her emphasis at each word. Her demeanor changed back to normal as she slipped the syringe back into her coat. Without another word, Sally walked out of the room, not even looking back at Nico as she left.

Nico did not move from his spot on his bed. He chewed on his lip as he held his legs tighter. For some reason, her threat shook Nico to his core. Nico jumped as his door opened again. A sweat covered Percy came in and smiled at him. Percy took a seat next to Nico on the bed. Nico scrunched up his nose and tried to squirm away from Percy, who smiled and pulled Nico to him. "Percy, you smell," Nico whined. "Go take a shower."

Percy grinned and leaned in to Nico's ear. "You should come take one with me," Percy whispered. Nico stiffened in his arms.

"N-No. I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Percy frowned.

"Just-I don't want to talk about it. Just go take a shower. I'll see you when you're done." Percy pouted at Nico, but consented. He hopped off the bed, placed a kiss on Nico's cheek, and walked out the door. Nico leaned back against the wall, letting himself slide down until he hit the floor. "Just great," Nico mumbled, running a hand through his hair. First he nearly killed people he cared about, then he got pulled into this place, where Percy's parents didn't care for them, and now Percy was pushing into a territory that Nico would not like to visit at the moment. Nico curled further into himself at the thought of being touched like that.

Percy groaned as he stretched under the soothing warm water. He leaned back against the wall. Nico's reaction to joining him in the shower was bothering him. Nico had been pretty open a few days ago, when they had been discussing Percy's body and private activities, and he had even been suggestive when it came to his own body. But Nico had pulled away when Percy had actually tried to be intimate, and Percy had to wonder if this would be a common occurrence. He had never tried anything beyond kissing before, so he was in uncharted territory. Percy did not even know if Nico had even had sex before.

Maybe he should ask Nico about it. Percy shrugged that idea off. Maybe if it kept happening, he would confront Nico about it, but for now it did not seem like anything to worry about. Percy turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and pressed it against his face. He dried off his body before wrapping the towel around his waist, just in time too.

A wave of shadows opened up and Nico fell forward. Percy caught him, preventing the boy from falling. Nico blushed and pulled away from Percy as he took in the sight of the older boy. Nico rubbed at his arm as he tried to avoid looking at Percy's chest.

Percy chuckled. "You can look, you know," Percy informed him. Nico blushed deeper, but glanced down briefly at Percy's chest. "I thought you had already seen me naked?"

"I-I have, but it just feels different now," Nico mumbled back.

Percy smiled and pulled Nico to him, placing the younger boy's hands to his chest. "Well I'm all yours, so you can look and touch whenever you want." Nico smiled up at him, trailing his fingers across Percy's chest. "So, what did you come up here for, I presume it was for something other than seeing me naked?"

Nico coughed and stepped back, apparently having forgotten what he originally wanted. "Yea, you need to get dressed."

"What for?" Percy asked.

"It seems you will be getting a practice fight against the Consortium."

Percy leaned against a brick wall as the group stood in the shadows. They were at a currently vacant construction site, but nobody had shown up yet. "Are we sure this is where Athena found them?" Jason asked, watching the area like a hawk.

"I'm positive," Percy replied.

"How did they even find him?" asked Apollo, crouching beside Jason.

"U.N.I.T. kept files on all of us, it only makes sense that they had files on our family," reasoned Nico, who was barely noticeable from the shadows.

"I'll kill them," Jason growled.

"Calm down, they obviously are just trying to pull us out of hiding."

"For what end?" Apollo asked, trying to pull Jason into his arms, but the blond just brushed him away.

"They want us, and Chiron," Jason muttered. "I'll fucking kill them."

"Quiet," Percy whispered. He pointed to the building that was being constructed. "Look over there."

Four figures walked out of the shadows of the building, one being shoved forward. Luke stood in the middle of the group, arms crossed over his chest as he scouted the surroundings. Ethan stood to his side, a rope in his hand that tied to the one being shoved. Circe stood off to the right, trying not to look bored. The final figure was the man tied up. He had short grey hair. He had glasses over his brown eyes. Percy did not recognize this man, but knew it was who they were looking for. "Dad," Jason whispered.

Before Apollo could stop him, Jason sent a bolt of lightning crashing down on top the group. The Consortium group scattered, barely managing to dodge the lightning. Jason jumped off the platform they occupied, rolling across the ground when he landed. He brought himself up from his crouched position and ran at the enemy. Apollo tossed Percy and Nico an apologetic look before jumping off after him.

Apollo stretched his hands out to the side, shooting fire out from his palms. He slowed his descent until he landed, immediately taking off after Jason. Circe had made metal beams encase her group, blocking Jason's constant electrical blasts.

Percy looked at Nico, lost at what to do. Nico just shrugged at him, grabbed Percy's hand, and ported them down to the ground. "Let him go!" Jason yelled.

"Perhaps if you calmed down, I might be willing to do that," Luke called back from behind the metal beams.

Apollo grabbed Jason's arm before the angry blond could toss another bolt of electricity. Jason glared at Apollo and huffed. "At least hear them out," Apollo explained. "We do outnumber them."

"Fine," Jason mumbled.

The metal beams dropped. Luke cleared his throat and took a step forward. "Besides, wouldn't want your daddy getting hurt now would we," Luke said with a grin. Jason snarled at him. Luke rolled his eyes and shoved Jason's father onto his back. "We just wanted to get your attention, relax."

"Why?" Percy asked, stepping forward.

"To offer you a place with us, of course."

"After all of these years of us trying to stop you?" Apollo growled.

Luke cocked an eyebrow at the other blond before shrugging. "I see no reason why enemies can't become friends." Luke stepped up to Percy and put his arm around Percy. "I can be nice, just ask Nico here." Nico's nostrils flared as soon as Luke touched Percy. Luke looked over at Nico and studied him for a minute. "Something's different about you."

Percy brushed Luke off of his shoulder. "Leave Nico alone," Percy warned.

Luke smirked at Nico. "Come on, Nico, after all we've been through together, aren't you tired of fighting?" He stepped up to Nico and put his hands on Nico's shoulders. "We could be together again."

"Fuck off," Nico muttered under his breath. "I don't want you anymore."

Luke cocked his head to the side. "Really?"

Percy's fist connected against Luke's jaw, causing the blond to stumble to the side. "Really," growled Percy. Luke rubbed his jaw as he straightened back up. "Don't touch him again."

"Are you his boyfriend now?" Luke asked, raising his brow.

"So what if I am?"

Luke just shrugged. "Just compensation for not having the real thing." Nico growled and thrust his hand forward, pointing two fingers at Luke. Nico blinked down at his hand when nothing happened. Luke cocked his head to the side. "What's this? Have you lost your powers, Nico?"

"Go fuck yourself," Nico snarled at him.

"I'd much rather fuck you." Luke grinned and reached out for Nico again. Percy extended his palm, creating an invisible wall between Luke's hand and Nico's face. He closed his fist, squeezing Luke's hand. Luke stood still and stared down at his hand. Percy gritted his teeth as he tried to crush Luke's hand, but was unable to. "Do you not fully understand my powers yet? I'm invulnerable when I concentrate."

Percy grunted and dropped his hand. "I thought I made it clear back on that roof that I was done with you," Nico spat at Luke.

Luke shrugged. "Whatever, baby. You'll come around eventually. My boss just wants all of you to think about joining us. That includes Chiron, as well."

"And give Kronos three Omegas? Yea right," Jason said, laughing dryly. "Your boss must be crazier than we thought."

"Why?" Nico asked. "What does Kronos want?"

"Ah. You finally want to know, eh?" Luke asked with a smirk.

"No, I just asked for my amusement and to humor you."

"Same old Nico. Well, Kronos simply wants to change the world, make some improvements."

"Now why don't we believe that?" Apollo asked sarcastically.

Luke glared at him. "Kronos wants to give power to the people who fund the Consortium, corporations. It wouldn't be a fast process. It needs just the right speed so that no one notices what is happening."

"What good does that do?"

"Enslave mankind without anyone knowing it," Percy mumbled.

"Very good, Percy," Luke said, clapping his hands.

"And you expect us to go along with this?" Jason asked.

"Why not? You'll all be well taken care of after it is all over."

"Because it's wrong."

"Wrong is just in the eye of the beholder." Luke placed his hand on his hip. "Besides, they wouldn't even know they were slaves. You act like this is something new for people, when the truth of the matter is that most of the people in the world are slaves without even knowing it."

"And our job is to make things better for this world," replied Nico.

"And that means we have to stop you," added Apollo.

Luke grinned at them. "You're welcome to try," he said, turning around and walking back towards the building.

"You two take care of those two," Percy ordered, pointing at Ethan and Circe. "Nico and I will handle Luke." Apollo and Jason nodded. Percy and Nico ran off after Luke, who had reached the entrance of the building. He was now waiting for them with his hands in his pockets, a smirk firmly in place.

Circe gestured with her hand and the metal beams went flying at Apollo and Jason, who jumped out of the way. Ethan gave a devilish grin before vanishing from his spot. He appeared behind Jason and Apollo. Jason and Apollo both tried to blast him, but the boy vanished again. Circe began chanting under her breath. Jason glanced back at her and tried to zap her, but was knocked back when the ground erupted at his feet. Jason rolled across the ground. He groaned as he tried to pick himself up, only to have Circe put her foot down on his back.

"Learn to play nice, little boy," Circe cackled down at Jason. Jason growled as sparks flew across his eyes. "Go back to school and learn some new tri-" Circe stopped when thunder boomed overhead. She looked up to find dark storm clouds now covering the sky. She jumped off of Jason when his body sparked, shocking her slightly.

Jason picked himself up and wiped the dirt off his face. "How's this for a new trick," he growled. A large bolt of lightning came crashing down on top of him, blasting Circe backwards. Jason started walking towards her, as bolt after bolt crashed down around her.

Circe gestured with her hands again and two metal beams came to her side. She threw one at Jason, who ducked under it. Jason thrust his hand forward, lightning shooting out from the tips of his fingers. The other beam dropped from Circe's side as she convulsed on the ground. Jason gritted his teeth and thrust his palm out at her, sending a ball of lightning at her chest.

Circe started screaming when Jason repeated the action. She tried to move her hands to manipulate something, but could not pull anything off with the electricity coursing through her body. "You-You wo-wouldn't kill m-me, wo-would y-y-you?" Circe fumbled as she convulsed on the ground.

"Ask me again when your body is a charred corpse," Jason whispered back darkly.

Jason raised his hand to bring another bolt of lightning down from the sky when Apollo yelled at him. "Jason, move!" Jason blinked and looked behind him. Apollo ran at him and tackled the blond to the ground. Several cinderblocks crashed to the ground where Jason had stood just moments ago. "What the hell, Jason? You need to be more alert. I'm not about to bury you."

"I'm sorry. I-I just got-"

"I know, but you can't lose your head. Now get up and keep your head clear."

Apollo glanced around, trying to locate Ethan, but unable to spot the guy. He looked up at the whistling noise above his head. He yelped and rolled out of the way as a wrecking ball came crashing down next to him. Ethan appeared in front of him, delivering a swift punch to Apollo's jaw.

Apollo acted through the pain and retaliated with a ball of fire aimed at Ethan. Ethan vanished just as the fire hit him. He reappeared a few feet away, patting his shirt, which had been singed. He glanced over at a wheel-barrel full of bricks, which soon vanished. Apollo cursed under his breath as he jumped out of the way of the falling objects. He rolled across the ground as the last brick landed and came into a crouching position. He pushed his hands together and flames shot out at Ethan. Ethan tossed Apollo a smirk before vanishing again, leaving the blond to search again.

Ethan appeared behind Apollo, delivering a kick to the blond's side. Apollo spun around to blast Ethan, but the boy vanished again. Another punch was delivered to Apollo's back, but Ethan vanished again before Apollo could even turn around. Apollo growled, growing frustrated.

Apollo was sent backwards from a jump kick from Ethan. Apollo climbed back to his feet and shot a ball of fire at Ethan, who once again vanished. "Fuck," Apollo growled. Apollo yelled and flames erupted all around him, engulfing several feet in fire.

"Not fast enough," Ethan stated before delivering a kick to Apollo's gut. Apollo coughed and fell onto his hands and knees. Ethan raised his elbow and brought it crashing down on Apollo's back, knocking the boy out.

Jason threw bolt after bolt against the barrier of metal that Circe had erected. He stopped his assault when he heard Apollo yell. He watched as Apollo went down, Ethan standing smugly over him. Growling, Jason created a ball of lightning in between his hands. He gathered the ball into his right hand and threw it at Ethan.

Ethan yelled in pain as the electricity seared his back. He fell over, gasping for breath. Jason raised his hand and brought a bolt of lightning down from the sky. When the smoke cleared, Ethan lay unconscious a few feet away from Apollo. Jason was about to go over and check on his boyfriend, when he remembered Circe. He turned around as two beams flew at him. He hit the ground, barely avoiding the beams as they flew past his head.

Circe dropped her foot on Jason's back again, digging her heel into his spine. Jason cried out in pain, causing Circe to smirk sinisterly at him. Jason opened his eyes and grasped Circe's foot. Jason's body sparked and Circe tried to pull away from him, but Jason held onto her. She screamed as she fell to the ground. Jason let the electric currents flow through her until her screams grew weak, and then he cut off the power, letting her pass out.

Jason climbed to his feet and ran over to Apollo. "Are you ok?" Jason asked, helping Apollo to his feet.

"I'm fine," Apollo replied, rubbing his head. "Go check on your dad." Jason nodded and leaned up to kiss Apollo before running off towards his father, who was still tied up.

"Dad!" Jason exclaimed, sliding down next to his father. He helped the man up and untied his bonds.

"Jason, thank goodness you're alright," Mr. Grace said.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. They didn't hurt you did they?"

"No, I'm alright." Jason nodded and looked over at Percy and Nico.

A cement bag flew into Luke, who caught it against his stomach. He threw it back at Percy, who raised a telekinetic shield around him. Percy gritted his teeth as the bag hit his barrier, which held firm. Nico jumped at Luke with a shadow dagger in hand. Luke jumped backwards with each swing that Nico tried to deliver to his chest. Luke finally kicked out, catching Nico off guard. Nico fell forward, into Luke's grasp. Luke picked Nico up and flung him at Percy, who managed to catch the smaller boy, but they both went tumbling backwards.

Luke ripped a metal beam from the building and raised it over his head. Nico grabbed Percy and shadowed them away before the beam crashed down. Nico summoned a ball of light into his hand and arched his arm at Luke, but the ball disappeared before he could throw it. "Fuck," Nico muttered to himself.

Luke laughed at him. "So, what happened? Can't control your powers anymore?" Luke mused.

"Shut up."

Percy arched his arms backwards before thrusting them out towards Luke. Dirt flew through the air as the kinetic blast rushed at Luke. Luke was flung through the air, hitting a brick wall behind him. Luke picked up a brick and flung it at Percy, who stopped it in the air and tossed it back at Luke. Luke punched the brick, shattering it to pieces, and pulled himself up.

Nico was on top of him by the time he got up, delivering a kick to Luke's face. Luke grabbed Nico's leg as he stumbled. He swung Nico, crashing him into a pile of wooden boards. Nico thrust two of his fingers out, causing a tentacle to rise from his back. The tentacle wrapped around Luke and flung him off of Nico.

Nico climbed back to his feet, panting heavily. He growled and formed a ball of shadow in his hand. He sent it flying at Luke. Upon impact, the ball exploded in a burst of light. Luke fumbled backwards, rubbing at his eyes. Percy took the advantage by bringing a crane down on top of Luke.

Luke grabbed the metal and flung it at Nico, who managed to vanish before it hit him. He appeared next to Percy, immediately falling to his knees. "Tired already, Nico?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. He studied the exhausted boy for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Now I know what it is. You lost that berserker part of your powers. That's a shame."

"I don't need it to beat you," Nico growled.

"We'll see about that."

Percy charged Luke, punching him in the stomach. He sputtered and went flying backwards, from the extra kinetic force. Percy didn't wait for him to recover. He sent a kick at the wall above Luke, slicing a line across the bricks. The wall came tumbling down on top of Luke until Percy could no longer see him.

Percy slumped his shoulders and turned back to check on Nico. He froze when he saw that a man had appeared and had Nico in a headlock. Nico squirmed against the man's chest, his eyes burning with anger. Nico tried to form a shadow dagger, but his powers seemed to be failing again. The man held Nico tighter, smirking down at the small boy. His gaze finally traveled up to Percy. Percy felt his blood run cold as he finally recognized the man from Nico's memories. Kronos. "Hello, Percy. I'd hoped to meet you for some time now."

And Kronos has finally shown himself. I'm sure you guys do not like Sally as much, now that she went all momma bear on Nico. The reality of the situation is sinking in to Percy. He knows he will be forced to kill Kronos in the end. You got Jason's backstory this chapter. And Athena does not really like so many Specials being in the lab. And what was that in the conversation with Chiron and Nico? It seems that perhaps they did things that they aren't proud of. Some sexual tension with Percy and Nico thrown in there to make you all happy. And what for next chapter? A lot. Bragi said next chapter is his favorite chapter of Choke so far. And I have to agree. I admit I did a good job, something I rarely do, admit I do a good job that is. It's very emotional and revealing. Percy confronts Kronos, and you get a glimpse into his head. But I think you'll enjoy next chapter. And with that, I bid you farewell until next time.