Chapter 7.

A clock and a map talk about world domination

Lupa wasn't too happy with June wanting to join the Hunters of Artemis.

She was even a little mad at me for telling June about the group of demigods, which I didn't really understand, unless Camp Jupiter was a little short staffed at the moment. I had no way of knowing though.

But fortunately, rather than kill me herself, she had just forced me into extra rounds of training. It had sucked, but I was glad for the extra training- nothing serious, just a few rounds around the forest, fighting wolves without weapons as usual and duelling the roman goddess one-on-one (that was the toughest on my body. She had not gone easy on me today).

June, however, was packing up. She didn't really train anymore, though she would occasionally send out a few skeletons to jump scare me from time to time. Lupa had told the Hunters of Artemis that a demigod wished to join them, and the Hunt was happy to have anyone, as long as they weren't male, and mortal.

Today had been a long day.

I woke up, finished my daily warm up exercises and physical training, progressed to swordmanship training against Lupa, and had a quick lunch with June. We had made it a thing to meet for lunch at least, especially because she would probably be leaving the Wolf House some time soon, while I didn't know when I could leave, if ever. Lupa and I had just finished our daily discussion about Roman Traditions- as in, she taught me about them. Lupa was really fluent in anything to do with ancient Rome, because she was literally there for everything that had ever happened in it. That, along with the fact that she was a perfectionist (being a Roman), meant that sometimes I spent hours together learning the exact 27 ways Romans cooked pigs.

After Ancient Roman discussions, I had resilience training, in which several wolves tried to kill me and I worked on not dying. The wolves would begin chasing me from the valley through the forest, and I had to spend at least an hour sneaking through the forest and making sure they didn't spot me, or outrun them if they did.

Which was why I was right now crouching between two prickly bushes near the clearing. I could sense the wolves were close by, and they were definitely tracking me. I could only use this as a temporary shelter to regain my breath, but honestly I wasn't sure how much longer it would be till they found me. I was just waiting for Lupa to howl.

As if on cue, she howled, signaling that an hour had elapsed.

Thank the gods.

I ran towards the clearing, chased by the two wolves. I had several bite marks all over me that stung, and several scratches over my body, but no lacerations and probably no internal bleeding today.

"That will be all."

The wolves chasing me disappeared back into the forest, and I stood before Lupa, panting. My ribs hurt with every breath, because one of the larger wolves had pounced on me and nearly crushed me with its weight before I could shove it off.

"You are progressing, Perseus. In physical training. How is your double wielding?" she asked me right away, and I straightened up though I winced in pain. Romans did not show weakness, and Lupa expected nothing less of me.

"It's better now," I said between staggered breaths, "I use maelstrom and one of the spare rudis swords. But I think it might be better if I used riptide."

The wolf goddess shook her head. "Not now. There will come a time, in the future perhaps, but not now. There are powerful consequences to using two weapons of such power but different in origin. But have you worked on your control of powers yet?"

I nodded. "Yes Lady Lupa. I practise it daily, in the evenings. I can now raise half a gallon of water if I concentrate enough."

Lupa nodded. "Good. Keep working demigod- this is only water. You have the highest affinity to it."

I frowned. "I don't understand, my Lady. What do you mean."

Lupa rolled her eyes- I think it was an eye roll, but I'm not sure- and snorted. "As a child of Poseidon, I think you have the potential to control all liquids. It is within your Father's realm to do so, but it will come at a cost."

"And what's that?"

"Your humanity."

"Wait- so if I control, like, milk or something, I stop being human and become a god?"

"No, but if you control poison, you can lose control of the empathy that makes you human and turn into a monster. I speak of you on the inside."

I nodded. That made sense. It was why the children of the Big Three always had to hold back. Besides the fact that it drained us tremendously, it wouldn't be humane if I controlled poison…or blood.

I shuddered at the thought.

Lupa looked at me, her eyes showing concern.

"I see you understand, Perseus. A child of Hades does not simply kill every opponent by sending their soul to the Underworld. A child of Jupiter will not simply use the air around someone to choke them to death. Although you can use your powers as you like, you must remember that the people around you notice what you do. Especially as a child of Neptune. They will fear you. But you must give them reason to respect you more. Not because you have power. But because you hold back. Remember this at Camp Jupiter."

I nodded. "Yes, milady."

Lupa nodded. "Then you are excused. Vale, Perseus."

"Vale"

I quickly headed to the nearby lake, where I jumped into the water without a second though. The cold water around me rejuvenated me, and I could feel the injuries- both internal and external- heal themselves.

Water always made me whole. Nectar and Ambrosia worked wonders, sure, but water? It was my home. A place I could always retreat to when I was in danger.

Within the water, I worked on a little more manipulation. I hadn't told Lupa, but I worked on fine-tuning my control of the other states of water as well. I was pretty sure she had figured out (I had accidentally frozen the whole lake once. Lupa had to dig me out of it, because I was frozen inside and didn't know how to unfreeze myself).

June had called me ice-ice-Jackson for a week after that, but I didn't care. I'd realized that I could shift the state of the water I manipulated- into any one of its three states. Of course, my control of water was much better than ice or steam, and there were definitely others who could manipulate ice and steam better than me, but I was proud of what I could do.

After about an hour, which I spent fencing with sharks using ice pikes, I willed the water to push me up, rising above the lake and heading back to the Wolf House. I felt a lot better, but mentally I was drained. I needed to rest.

June was already inside, asleep. I was careful not to step on any of the packs of chips we had scattered around the bed last night, and climbed up to my bunk to sleep.

I'd like to say I had a good nights' sleep, but that would be a lie, because as soon as I slept, I was assaulted by a dream.

Now normal dreams are one thing, but demigod dreams are another. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes they carry no meaning, like the time I dreamed that I was in charge of giving a pink lion a manicure, but other times they can be scary.

In my dream, I saw two people talking.

One was a man made of clocks. Just clocks. A large one was his face, while his body was made up of smaller and smaller clocks. Of all types- digital ones, analog ones, hourglasses, sun dials and even a mini Dinosaur Train clock. His legs were two grandfather clocks, which chimed every time he walked.

He was talking to a woman made out of Earth. Literally, her whole body was a globe. Asia was her torso, and most of her right arm was North America. Most of her was blue, like the oceans, if I had to guess. I was pretty sure she represented Earth, but I wasn't sure why I was seeing her.

"Have you begun the preparations, Kronos?"

"Yes mother. Hyperion is on his way. But I do not understand why we have to wait this long. I am ready to reform and take back Olympus- you know I have amassed an army of demigods and monsters to take over."

The mud lady shook her head, flinging out Antarctica to the side as she did so. "You must wait. The gods will defeat us if we attack separately. But together, we can defeat them. I will send Otis and Ephialtes to guard the jar."

The clock-man stepped back, surprised. "You are resurrecting the giants?"

"Yes. They will aid you."

"But-but how? I do not understand-"

The earth-lady laughed. "Thanks to you, my son. The actions of the Titans have set across a ripple that began the Great Stirring. I and my children are awakening, and we are ready to end the reign of the Olympians and bring back the Golden Age."

I think the clock-man began to smile. It was hard to say, but that was what the dial on his face showed. "Excellent mother. In that case, we shall proceed with the rest of our preperations, but wait for the support of the giants, and, of course, you."

The two of them then began to talk about global warming for some reason, before going back to talking about world domination. I tried to listen closer, but tripped.

"Shit," I mumbled as I looked down to see where I was falling.

I was falling into a giant hourglass.

I landed in the hourglass, and the sand threatened to swallow me. As I struggled to stay up, I could hear a woman and man laughing.

"This child…he is the one destined to stop us?" I could hear her ask.

"One of them. Join us, demigod."

Suddenly the sand became firm and I could stand. I noticed a really handsome buff guy walk towards me. His eyes were gold, and he had blond hair. A scar cut across his right eye, down to his lip. He wore an orange shirt, which had a Pegasus and the words 'chubby' on it.

Oh wait. Not Chubby. Just CHB. A short form for chubby, maybe?

"Join me, Percy."

I stepped back. "Who-who are you? How do you know my name?"

"A demigod. Like you. But that's not important. What's important is that you join me."

"Join you?" I asked, confused. "Join you in what?"

The demigod took a deep breath and took on a classic I have done this talk too many times to uninterested people look (which I knew from salespersons I had seen in stores) before smiling.

"You can be sure that the gods have abandoned us, right?"

I raised a brow. "Nope. I'm taught by a goddess, and my dad just gave me a cool sword."

The demigod sighed, as if I was a two year old he was tired of dealing with. "Sure, Percy. They show the occasional oh hey exist, by the way I need you to do this for me. Don't be fooled, Percy- Neptune doesn't care about you. You're just a means to an end. And you've never even met Poseidon. It's obvious he doesn't care."

I stumbled back on the sand, landing on my butt, surprised.

"You-you know about the Greek and Roman gods? How? Hermes told me I was the only-"

"Hermes is a goddamn liar!" the demigod snarled, and for a second his eyes seemed to glow gold, and emit a powerful aura, sending shock waves towards of power I had never seen before- too powerful to be coming from a demigod.

He quickly took a breath to calm down, before continuing in a softer voice. "Sorry about that, I was just a little…emotional. Hermes had been rather cruel to me. But yes, that's just another thing to point it out to you. Of course I know. The gods are liars- Hermes especially, he's been using you."

"He has?"

The demigod nodded. "Anyways, the point is- the gods. They don't care. And that's what is about to end now. There are people who care about ending them, Percy. People who are so powerful that the gods are nothing before them. You'd be wise to join them, and not die opposing them. That's why you should join me. Think of the help you could do in a world where we could save people from monsters everywhere!"

I listened, captivated. "How?"

The demigod smiled. "My side has power, Percy, power like nothing you have ever seen. We will end the gods, and restart the golden age of the Earth. People will live separate, and free from the gods. No more unnecessary deaths or rapes or murders. Utopia!"

I nearly fell for him, but the fact that his head shifted as he said that made me glance at his wrist.

He had a golden watch on it.

Suddenly it all clicked together.

The golden eyes. The clocks. The names.

The clock guy was Kronos. The evil leader of the Titans.

"Wait…you work for Kronos?"

The demigod chuckled. "In a sense, I am Kronos."

"But you're a demigod-"

He nodded. "Indeed I am, but I am also a vessel for Kronos right now. In this dream of yours. In real life, not so much…yet."

I didn't like the way this demigod said yet, as if he was looking forward to being possessed by a crazed ancient being that wanted to destroy the world.

As much as I wanted to go with this demigod, I couldn't. I remembered the Titans. Especially Kronos. While the gods weren't the best, at least they weren't bloodthirsty beings that only cared about power….I mean, they were, but at least they let humans live. I was sure the Titans wouldn't care about humans once they were back in power.

I also remembered giants being mentioned. And I wasn't really eager to live in a world dominated by giants and titans. One of them was bad enough, but both of them together? That would be pure suicide.

"Why me?" I finally managed to ask.

The demigod smiled. "Because you are special."

"Do you mean-"

"Not in the stupid sense where you tell everyone is special and give everyone who takes part in a race a medal because they are a 'winner' or some bullshit like that."

"Oh-"

"You are the bridge between the gods, Percy. A Greek who grew up Roman and will bridge the gap between the worlds. As such, you have the blood of both Neptune and Poseidon flowing through you. You are easily one of the most powerful demigods of all time, if not the most powerful. Don't you want to use that power to do something good?"

"Uh…I'll have to take a rain-check, my guy. I'm sorry, but I can't betray Rome."

"This is above Rome!" the blond demigod exclaimed. "Rome is not something the gods can define. It is what you people are!"

I shook my head, Lupa's instruction coming back to me. My mind suddenly felt sharper, and I looked straight at the demigod. "What's your name?"

The demigod smiled. "You can call me Luke."

"Well, then, Luke. I say no."

The demigods' eyes darkened. "Wrong choice, Percy. I sincerely hope you reconsider. We will talk again later. Perhaps a little difficulty will allow you to see more clearly."

Luke disappeared, and the earth in the hourglass swallowed me.

When I woke up, I immediately told Lupa about what I had seen in my dream. Something told me it was more than my ADHD brain acting up in my sleep.

Lupa was grave as she spoke to me after hearing what I had to say. That in itself had me worried, because if something could worry her, it had to be something dangerous. And powerful.

"Be watchful, Perseus. The fates often inform demigods of what is going on through dreams."

"So my dreams are like warnings?"

Lupa nodded. "Yes. Which is why I am concerned. What bounty would be so valuable that Hyperion and the twins would guard it?"

I frowned. "That's the hardest part to understand? What about Kronos and his mother?"

Lupa looked me in the eye, with a grave expression. "I had kept it away from you thinking the time would come later, but evidently it is upon us. You remember your Roman history?"

"Do you mean history like the stoics and gladiators or history like the gods and titans?"

"Ancient history. Gods and Titans."

"Well then, yes, Lady Lupa."

Lupa turned around, her large head looking towards the rising sun in the east.

"Kronos and Gaia. They are reforming. Awakening. Kronos has been plotting his return for quite a while now, but it has been nothing substantial till now."

"What about Gaia?"

"I think the unbalance in nature has caused her to awake. As you are aware, humans do a lot to pollute the earth."

I nodded. That wasn't new. There were tons of causes of man-made pollution all around the Earth. The fact that the Earth itself was annoyed at it and ready to take revenge honestly sounded a little good to me, just that this Earth wasn't just trying to take care of itself, it wanted to kill everyone.

"Gaia is not inherently evil," Lupa spoke to me, as if reading my thoughts (which I realize she probably did), "she is just too powerful to care. She is….indifferent to humans."

"But I'd rather she doesn't awaken fully. I don't think the gods could handle a primordial."

Lupa nodded. "They would not. But that is why they have demigod heroes. You will arise to stop them. But that is for another time-"

"Another time? It sounded pretty urgent."

"Plans like this take time, Perseus," Lupa chastised me. "But I have a test for you. Your first real test."

I leaned forward, excited. "A real test? What do you mean?"

"I am not eager to send you to this, but it is necessary. You are aware of the twelve Titans?"

I nodded.

Lupa continued. "They are reforming. And Gaia has another plan up her sleeve. I don't know what, but I am worried. The Titans themselves are a big enough issue, which means we should take them down while we still can."

"So where does that involve me?"

"I am coming to that. Many of the Titans- Thethis, Rhea, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Themis and Phoebe are neutral in this war. Several of the second generation Titans are allied with the Olympians, though I suspect a large number will revolt. But there is one in particular that you will face first-Koios."

"Koios? What's so special about him?"

"It is the elder Titans that are the most powerful. And able to cause the most damage. And Koios is one of them- I do not know what he has been ordered to do, but he was sent to the coast of California. Evidently, something of interest is going on there, and you will stop him."

I nodded. "And I'm supposed to defeat him? That's though, but I'll do my best."

Lupa threw her head back and howled with laugher. "Spoken like a true Roman. Child, you are a demigod. A Titan would destroy you in minutes. No, you will have help."

"What kind of help?"

Lupa looked away, towards a few hills on the distance. "Your father has sent you a gift. It will help you with your battle. Everything else you need will be provided where you go."

I looked back towards the Wolf House. "And what about June?"

Lupa's eyes narrowed. "The Hunt will arrive to test her shortly. If you wish to bid her farewell, do so quickly. You do not have much time, Koios is much ahead of you."

I nodded, and ran back to the Wolf House, just as June was leaving. The two of us stopped awkwardly, a few feet away from each other.

June still was the prettiest girl I'd seen so far. Not that I'd met many, but you get the idea. I still wasn't sure how I felt about her, but I was pretty sure it was nothing more than friendship at this point. Either way, I wasn't sure how to tell her I was going off to Camp Jupiter- but I think something in my eyes gave me away, because she looked at me and raised a brow.

"Going on a life-threatening quest?"

I nodded. "First time, so I don't really know how this works."

She smiled. "You'll figure it out. And hey, you got this, Percy. You're one of the best I've ever seen- not that I've seen a lot, but there's something about you-"

"Is it my dazzling good looks?"

June laughed. "Nope. Probably your lack of. Either way, you got this. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine- probably at the Hunt."

"They're coming soon, I guess?"

"Yep," she replied, nodding her head. "I'm not sure exactly when, but soon enough."

"I guess that means you'll be staying with them from now on."

"If I get selected."

I chuckled. "Of course you'll get selected. You're too good not to be."

June looked at me, her eyes hopeful. "I hope so Percy. I really do."

As much as I was sad she was leaving, I was glad June had finally found something she liked. I would miss her, but I was happy she was happy.

I gave her a two-finger salute. "I guess I'll see you around?"

June nodded, before she quickly closed the gap between us and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Don't die."

"I'll do my best"

A/N: Sorry about the re-uploads, I've been editing and fleshing out the chapters. This and the next chapter will be the last re-uploads, then the story can continue