First off, I want to say I was shocked that people still actually read this story. I appreciate the continued support.

Second, I was blown away by the response to the last one-shot I posted. 40 Reviews? Holy whoa…That's amazing. Sure 80% of the comments were about how sad it was, but still, I'm speechless.

To all those who reviewed, shout outs to BuRsT oF iRiDeScEnT, Wisegirl1480, EllieTheNinja, trio-of-friends, Queen of the Wallflowers, CookiesCream333, Adrift an Open Sky, Swimmy13, ThisYourSong17, RockChick163, Heyitsthecats, RachelChaseJackson, Sora Loves Rain, Lolabeth, Tom Marvolo Riddle 2, gloria, theamazinggoddessofeverything, momosan123, Faded Stripe, Juzko Disco, MyLifeIn3D, The Demigod Gryffindor, fanfic1892, GreyEyes217, fieryjunior35, McLennonLover, AlexandraSkylarValdez, imfromtheotherside, Amany, Athena's gray owl, WElaine21, Finding Adventures, ThatNerdyAsian, Reese123, onceuponamormon, Anonymous, and all the Guests that reviewed!

Previously—

Percy stopped struggling for a second, his boss… No, he couldn't possibly show up here unless the insider had… No.

"Jackson," a discordant voice came from behind him. "What a surprise."

Percy froze upon hearing the voice so close to him. Yet, he kept his eyes focused on Annabeth's gray ones where Luke still had her pinned against his chest.

"Sir, your presence is welcome," Luke smiled past him, a grin so evil, only intensified by the scar on his face. "Thank you for coming Kronos."

"Well, well Jackson. I seems that all of your downfalls seem to end with women. No matter. It was all planned quite obviously," the grating voice came from behind Percy. A large, hard hand clamped down on Percy's shoulder.

"You silly boy, thinking it was about revenge. No, it was all about you. You were the one I wanted revenge against. It has been for a while. Ever since you had it out for Luke. I knew you were a threat. It would only be moments before you connected it back to me."

But, it's no matter now," the voice continued. It was as though it was a separate force, detached from a body or image. "We'll do away with you to save you the pain. Think of it as my little favor to you. A departing gift."

"Kronos, sir," Luke began but stopped immediately. Judging from the look on Major Castellan's face, Percy assumed it was something about Kronos that had silenced the other man.

Kronos hissed waspishly, "Not now Luke. Patience, boy, patience." He then stepped forward, his footsteps reverberating against the ground until he was in line with Percy. Percy didn't dare look at him, keeping his eyes trained on the struggling Annabeth.

He felt chills as a presence neared his neck. The deep, heavy breathing causing him to shiver, his neck hair standing up, goose bumps everywhere. "So, who's the blonde?" the voice cackled into his ear.

The gag in Percy's mouth made it impossible to respond, yet Kronos continued to taunt him mercilessly.

"Percy, Percy, sweet, innocent Percy…" he went on, his face hovering dangerously close to Percy's own face. From the corner of his eye, Percy noted the deep set cracks in the other man's face. It had been almost eight years that he had known this man, yet he had never seen his face. He somehow doubted that he wanted to see it now either.

Kronos stepped back looking at Percy from a new angle. "Ungag him," he ordered.

Luke scrambled forward, almost loosing footing as Annabeth resisted him. He whacked her with the back of his gun, causing a small, bright red gash to appear. "You stupid bitch!" With one arms still securely around Annabeth's waist, he used the other to remove the gag.

Luke was caught by surprise when Percy unceremoniously spat in his face. Percy's visage was passive except for the now tumultuous, sea green eyes, threatening to take the other man down.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Luke chuckled, a heartless laugh similar to Kronos's.

"That's better. Perseus, face me," Kronos grinned at the sight of the helpless marine.

Percy, normally a stranger to compliance, figured the best way to confront the issue was to listen to the man while he spoke. Not for his own safety. Annabeth's pitiful look when Luke had hit her fueled his anger sevenfold. No one was getting away with hitting her the way Luke did.

Percy might have done a few regrettable things in his life, but he was staunchly loyal. He turned to face Kronos, a silent mask over his face as he didn't let his shock from showing on his face. The man was more horrid than he had imagined. He had several thin scars running down his face, few of them new, pink and inflamed from infection. His eyes were a molten gold, turning solid upon his eyes landing on Percy's hardened emerald green ones.

His expression was stern, patronizing as he spoke, "Alright Jackson. Here's the deal. I kill you, and we're done. Simple enough to understand? I've been prolonging this for years more than necessary. Luke." Kronos nodded his head.

Luke understood immediately as he brought the gun to Annabeth's head again.

"Right, let's not try anything funny, boy. If you do, the girl's done for." Percy looked at his captain once, slightly surprised to find that her once pitiful look was gone, replaced with sheer determination. Her steeled grey eyes looked around carefully as though looking for an escape route.

"What do you want?" he finally expectorated.

Kronos merely looked amused, "The boy talks. I assume you have some questions. I would let you lay them to me, but I'd rather be the one talking here. So, let's get started. The moment you came to me, after Zeus Grace's daughter died, I knew you would be trouble. You see Percy, Zeus and I didn't hate each other. We were comrades. Sure Zeus was upset his daughter died, but did he really care? No, she was just the result of a fling. She was just a girl, no importance. He had plenty of worthy sons to take up after her. She was useless."

Annabeth started upon hearing her friend being talked about dismissively, "You smug bastard. You misogynistic pig! How dare you…"

Luke clamped his hand down on the captain's mouth. Annabeth must have bitten him for Percy noted a look of pain momentarily cross the major's face.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted," Kronos continued with a glint in his eye, "The real goal was always to get to you. This had given me the perfect opportunity I had been waiting for. The whole thing about killing Luke? He had been in on the plot the entire time. He knew. Hermes Castellan? Also a business partner. The group, previously known as the Olympians, was undergoing a merger with my mafia, the Titans. But there was one company that resisted, breaking apart plans at the last minute. Can you guess whose company that was?"

Percy muttered something incoherent under his breath.

"What was that Perseus?" Kronos barked in excitement.

"My father's," Percy's hands balled up in anger, straining against the ropes which were currently binding them to his back. His father. The unknown figure who had abandoned him and his mother when he was a child. Percy could feel the heat of the anger rising in him as it brought back the details he knew. His mother had always said he was a product of wedlock, but she had never regretted bringing him into the world. His father, she had warned, was a dangerous man that he was to never cross paths with. He had been involved in some underground organization which is how he had gotten lost.

"Yes, your father," Kronos sneered, "Poseidon. You look just like him, you know. He had defected from the group briefly when he had his little affair with a slut, your mother. Then they had you. He came back, refusing to participate in our little merger…"

The anger had reached a breaking point in Percy, something snapping in him as he surged forward. He was face to face with the disfigured man, his teeth barred.

"Not so powerful now, are you Jackson? Just like your father," he shook his head pityingly. "Your father said he had turned, unwilling to join such an infamous group. So, the plan was simple. Just kill the man. Which, we did. No harsh feelings I hope. As he was already a part of the Olympian group, we had expected that the company would go to the group, but no, your father had been one step ahead. In the event of his death, the company would go to you before it could reach our hands. Now, twenty-six years later, it's still with you. You weren't informed about the whereabouts of the company, but we kept track, knowing the best way to acquire it would be through killing you."

"Then why get me in the Navy? Killing Rachel? What was the master plan behind that?" Percy's voice caught on his ex-fiancée's name.

"The Navy, the Marines, everything was to keep an eye on you. We had our people everywhere. As for Miss Dare, her father, Mr. Dare, was our financier. Naturally the girl knew about her father's deals. That's why she had agreed to meet with Luke the day of her death."

"Rachel knew?" Percy replied flatly, his hands trying hard to untie the knot.

"Of course," Kronos replied, a tone of surprise in his voice. "When the girl got too close, we couldn't afford to lose our information to you. We had to do away with her. It was a good thing we had done it then too. The child she was pregnant with would have been the next heir to the company after you. This, in turn, would only complicate the issue further."

"You f*cking bastard. You had her and the child killed for some stupid ploy? They were my life! I could have cared less about my father's damn company," Percy said in a low, struggled whisper. "You could have had it for all I cared. But now, now you made it personal. Killing them cold-heartedly." The knot on the rope finally let loose as Percy grabbed Kronos's shirt with his fists.

"Mr. Jackson," Kronos said coldly as he pried Percy's hands off with force, "I believe our time is up. Luke, bring the girl here." Luke pushed Annabeth forward till she was in line with Percy. He came up to Percy's other side, bending down to whisper, "Goodbye Jackson."

Percy didn't register his actions till he had already done them. With unparalleled speed, he grabbed the gun from the man's arm, causing him to stumble back in recoiled shock. Without pausing to think, he shot him.

The sound echoed through the clearing as they watched a pool of blood sprout from the side of the major's forehead. Kronos looked at the body dismissively as though it were no loss. He tried to pull Annabeth in protectively, but there was shock written all over her face. She stepped back, her hands up.

"Annabeth," he whispered. "Please. Annabeth…"

Kronos chuckled as he watched the scene, "Mr. Jackson, enough with the time wasting. Let's make this qui—"

Before he could finish, Percy had him at gunpoint. He cocked the barrel, ready to pull the trigger. Kronos laughed again, the harsh grating noise only adding to Percy's fury.

"What?" Percy growled.

"You think you can kill me," he replied.

"I will kill you!" Percy pulled the trigger, expecting to hear the sound of a shot being fired. Nothing.

"Only one bullet in that gun. It was a precaution Luke had undertaken. He must have known." Kronos shrugged his shoulders. "On the other hand, it's time for you to die. This conversation has grown stale." He slipped his hand into a pocket, retrieving an old gun. He looked at in awe almost. "This gun has waited twenty-six years. It was the gun that killed your father. Funnily enough, the setting was similar to this. Very similar. Almost a déjà vu."

He put the gun point on Percy's forehead, "Ready to reunite with daddy, Perseus?"

Before he could act, a voice interrupted. "Put down your gun! I repeat put down your gun!" Percy didn't register what was going on till a crowd of the people entered the clearing. Protective shields were put up against all of them. Percy squinted to make out the words on the shields. S.C.P.D. The South Carolina Police Department.

He noticed that someone had grabbed Annabeth and had taken her away to safety. A thin, pale figure emerged with an officer. Nico DiAngelo. He offered Percy a wan smile, "Tipped them off." Percy blinked in gratitude, hoping the message was conveyed.

The officer stepped forward, "Kronos, you are under arrest for first-degree manslaughter and illegal dealings…" Percy zoned out as the list continued. Many officers had converged upon him and Kronos.

It was until Percy himself was being handcuffed that he was startled out of his reverie. "Excuse me?!"

"Sir, we're going to have to detain you," she replied. "You will be put on trial for murder of Major Castellan. We understand that it was self-defense, but procedure must be followed."

"The consequences?" he asked.

She glance at him pityingly, "Could be from community service to five years in jail. Ultimately, it's up to the judge."

Percy nodded his head, his eyes catching glimpse of a flash of blond hair in the distance. He could see Annabeth's grey eyes staring at him from there, a reassurance that it would be alright.

So, for the sake of the story, I made certain characters (Zeus) evil/OoC… So sue me. But really, I hope no one cares too much.

Also, I hope this chapter wasn't horrendous. I realize for a Percabeth story, there wasn't much romance in it. There was more Perachel than anything. I hate that couple, but it made for a semi-interesting backstory. I wanted to try something different than my other romance stories. Not sure how it turned out. It's up for you to tell me.

There will be one more chapter after this that will be the epilogue.

So, feel free to review, fave, follow, or don't do any of the previously listed…

~TJ

Just as a fyi, more reviesw/faves give me incentive to update sooner.