Chapter 31 - Pillars of Hercules

Bythos and Aphros had reminded Percy of Chiron, which made sense since they were brothers.

The fish-brothers had the same stature as Chiron, the same regal hold that Percy had picked up on in their godly half-siblings too. The familiarity had Percy settling quickly as he told them what had happened in their quest so far. They had assured Percy that they'd look into the aquarium in Atlanta, and they agreed between themselves to find Pricus – "Us illegitimate children of Kronos need to stick together, lots of immortals don't like us on principal." – before Leo, Hazel and Frank were brought into the large hut.

Back on the surface, Percy waited anxiously for Kronos to emerge from the depths. The brothers had said they wanted a word alone with their father and sent the demigods up ahead, not even listening to Percy's protests.

But, true to their word, nearly half an hour after Percy had breached the surface, Kronos emerged in a shower of seawater that swamped the deck.

Percy let out a sharp breath, scanning his omega over just to make sure that there was no lasting damage. Kronos seemed oddly thoughtful as he observed Percy in return, at least until he spotted the basket of brownies that the brothers had given them. The Titan snatched up a handful with a frown.

"You two aren't going to spend even longer making us wait are you?" Annabeth asked as she poked her head back onto the deck. Apparently Kronos' landing had been heavier than Percy had noticed.

"We can meet up here," Leo called from the quarterdeck.

Annabeth sighed before retreating back down the stairs.

Percy smiled. "Thanks, Leo."

The son of Hephaestus flashed him a thumbs up and a grin. "Yeah. What's up with her?"

Percy frowned and shrugged. "No clue."

Kronos snorted, scooping up yet another handful of brownies. Percy frowned and shoved him, but it was like trying to move a statue. "Hey, I know you've got a bottomless stomach and all," Percy said, "but we'd like some too."

"They're good."

"I know."

The Titan Lord shrugged. He paused, then looked over to Percy and opened his mouth.

"We need to find Nico –"

"And the Mark of Athena."

"Kronos?" Percy questioned, completely ignoring the other demigods who'd emerged onto the deck.

"Later," Kronos muttered. He frowned down at the brownies in his hand as if they'd personally offended him. "It's not important."

Percy slowly nodded before moving to follow the others. "Come on."

The Titan stayed where he was, allowing the demigods their moment to plan. He sighed, turning back to search the sea for any sign of a tailfin, maybe half-hoping that he'd spot one and could slip beneath the waves and never be found again. Only, he knew that his stupid alpha would jump in after him.

"Kronos?"

Kronos groaned and turned to face Percy. "Yes?" Percy gestured for him to come over. The omega huffed, but did so. "What?"

"What's the Athena Parthenos?"

The Titan stilled.

Percy's eyes furrowed. "You've heard of it, right?"

"Of course. Athena's pride and joy being carted off by the Roman Barbarians? I was laughing about it for weeks."

Jason bristled slightly. Frank and Hazel tensed at the insult, but none of the three said anything.

Percy, on the other hand, didn't have any qualms with scowling at his omega. "That's rude."

Kronos merely shrugged. "The Athena Parthenos was a statue of Athena."

"We know that much," Annabeth said. "But what does it do?"

The Titan cocked his head to the side. "Does a statue have to do anything? Perhaps it's just a statue of Athena."

"The Giant's Bane," Annabeth recited, narrowing her eyes slightly at Kronos. "So it does something."

"Perhaps finding it would simply unite Romans and Greeks," Kronos offered. "Perhaps that could be considered a Giant's Bane."

Percy huffed. "Right, so you don't know."

Kronos hummed. "I was in Tartarus then," he said. "What interest should I have in an old statue from Athens that has been sending half-blooded bastards to their deaths?"

Annabeth stared at him completely disbelievingly, and rightly so. Percy grunted. "Great."

"If it's the most powerful statue of Athena," Hazel said. "It's got to be for a reason, right?"

Leo nodded sagely. "Right," he agreed. "Maybe for a Giant-Killing reason?"

Percy's eyes furrowed slightly at Kronos as Leo directed them all to clean the ship, watching the omega closely. There was something in the back of his mind, an itch he couldn't quite reach.

It was only after he was midway through cleaning the upper deck with Annabeth, Hazel and Frank that he realised just what it was. "We never mentioned the Mark of Athena," Percy said suddenly.

Kronos was avoiding all work, instead lounging on Festus' head. Fortunately, it put him at a distance from the demigods where they were hunched over parts of the mast.

Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"After Kronos joined us," Percy said, dropping his voice, just in case Kronos could hear them talking from where he was. "None of us mentioned the Mark of Athena, but he knew that demigods had been killed following it. How did he know about the Mark of Athena if he claims to not know about the statue?"

Annabeth stilled. "I – I don't know." She glanced over at where the winged Titan was stretching out along Festus, eerily resembling a big cat – his jaguar form – as he did so. "He knows more than he's telling us."

"Why?" Frank asked lowly.

"He mentioned that Gaea's been trying to get him to join her," Percy added.

Hazel pressed her lips together. She, of all of them, knew what it was like to have Gaea bothering someone. "Has he said anything else?"

"No," Percy said quietly. His hands clenched into a fist. "Pricus has warned me, others have warned me." Percy hesitated. "Something's going to go wrong."


The Pillars of Hercules weren't anything impressive, and Percy had entirely no urge to meet the former demigod. Quite frankly, he'd rather ignore his existence. Hercules may have been a hero, but Percy hadn't forgotten his treatment of Zoe Nightshade. Besides, Percy had more important things to do.

And Kronos wasn't about to complain.

Percy didn't know what mess Kronos had got himself into, but he was going to try to find out. Maybe the Titan would spill everything if Percy pushed him. So they retreated to Percy's room while Jason and Piper went to talk to Hercules.

The alpha pressed himself against Kronos, the two lying on his bed, simply sprawled next to each other. Kronos seemed quite happy to stay there, arms behind his head as he shut his eyes. Percy huddled closer, feeling the immortal's overwhelming warmth. Fortunately, Kronos had vanished his wings, allowing himself to settle back more comfortably.

Not for the first time, Percy wondered what Kronos' true form looked like, wanted to know how different Kronos looked when he wasn't standard mortal size, when he didn't have to consider fitting in.

"Right," Percy said. "What do you really know about the Athena Parthenos?"

Kronos frowned, though his eyes remained shut. "It's a statue."

"Yes, thank you – we've been over that much already. What else do you know that you haven't said?"

The Titan took a few long seconds to answer. "What makes you think I know anything more?"

"You mentioned that demigods had died looking for it," Percy pointed out. "So obviously you know something that you're not saying." The alpha shifted over, moving ever closer. "If there's something we should know about it, something that you've overheard. Or maybe that you've been told – anything that you've been told –"

"What makes you think that anyone tells me anything?" Kronos cut across, one eye finally opening. Cold, hard, his gaze fixed on Percy with the ferocity of a cornered beast.

"You've said that Gaea's been talking to you, maybe she could've said something." Percy shifted, brushing his fingers over the omega's jawline. He pressed closer, trying to get Kronos to move closer, but the Titan didn't budge – as unmoving as a statue.

Kronos fixed both eyes onto Percy. "And if she has?" There was a faint sneer in his voice, a look to his eyes that briefly had Percy recoiling as a voice screamed in his head – something's wrong. Something's very wrong.

"Tell me?" Percy pressed. "If Gaea's been bothering you – you're not the only one. She's been messing with our heads too, getting us to do things. Tricking us, trying to stop us."

The omega snorted in amusement. "Not to the lengths she's going with me."

Percy let out a sharp breath. "We can help if you talk to us."

"How?" Kronos' tone was fierce, hard.

Percy frowned. "What?"

The Titan's jaw clenched. "How could you possibly help?"

"We know what it's like, Kronos."

"You can't possibly know," Kronos snapped suddenly, hotly. Percy tried to curl around him, but Kronos shrugged him off with ease, sliding from his grip like oil as he jerked upright. "How could you know – you're only mortal."

A hand clenched around Percy's heart as he heard those words, the fury with which they'd been said. A shiver ran up his spine – wrong, something's wrong – as eyes of molten gold fixed on him.

Percy swallowed. "Kronos –"

"Your existence is meaningless and will be forgotten, given a decade. You serve your purpose and Zeus tosses you aside, merely to be dusted off and sent off into the fray again when it suits him." Kronos' eyes burned, seemingly looking straight through Percy's and into his soul beyond. "You have small lives and little problems and that will never change." His ochre gaze darkened. "Why do you continue on in this madness?"

Percy swallowed, forcing himself to meet those eyes that burn with the fury of a thousand suns head-on. He's reminded, not for the first time – and nor the last – that the omega was remarkably good at luring Percy into a false sense of security when around him. Percy had to remember that he was the Lord of the Titans.

"Because if we don't, then who will?" Percy asked. "Someone has to do it."

Kronos scoffed. "It's better to let the world burn." His hands clench, knuckles whitening.

Wordlessly, Percy reached over. Kronos' gaze stopped him. You're only mortal. Percy let out a sharp breath. "Kronos –"

The Titan shifted, muttering something about needing some fresh air – despite the fact that they'd only been below deck for no longer than fifteen minutes. Percy ground his teeth, feeling that hand around his heart clench further as his omega strode from the room.

It was a few minutes later, when Percy was finally able to move after staring at the door, that the alpha realised that Kronos hadn't even answered his very first question.

Outsmarted yet again.

The ship suddenly rumbled around him, everything shuddering as the Argo II took to the air. Percy sighed and picked himself up, deciding to find out what had happened during the meeting that Jason and Piper had with Hercules. Maybe they had some good news.

If he was hoping to see Kronos on the top deck, he was sorely disappointed. When Annabeth saw him emerge from below deck, she made her way straight over. "What happened?" She demanded. "Did you get it out of him?"

"Where is he?" Percy asked.

"Percy –"

"Where did he go?" Percy repeated, cutting over her. The Athena Parthenos was less important right now.

"He flew off," Hazel said softly.

"I've never seen anyone move so quickly," Leo called down to Percy. "What did you say to him?"

"Percy, the Athena Parthenos –"

"I don't care," Percy snapped at Annabeth, anger rising. Damnit, why had Kronos just flown off? "It can wait." How could you knowyou're only mortal. "I need – does anyone know where Kronos went?"

"Sorry, Percy," Hazel said. The others all came up with similar apologies, but Percy just clenched his jaw.

"He just left. I don't know what's going on with him, but I need to find out," Percy paused briefly, eyes furrowing as he finally took in the deck of the ship and bewilderment struck. "Where did the coconuts come from?"

"A parting gift from Hercules," Piper said helpfully.

Percy blinked, hesitating as he cast a glance around the sky, hoping to see a flash of golden-feathered wings. No such luck. He wished he could follow Kronos, but Percy couldn't fly and he had no way to track the Titan down. For all Percy knew, he could be on the other side of the world right now.

The alpha shut his eyes. "Okay," he said. He swallowed. "Where next?"

Percy tried to shove Kronos' words aside, wanted to forget them for now and mull them over later. But even as Leo and the others brought him up to speed regarding the encounter with Hercules the Titan's biting words lingered at the back of his mind, playing on repeat.

You're only mortal.


Wow. 2 months. You have my apologies.

So with the current state of the world today I just wanted to say I hope everyone's being safe and healthy in these times. For those interested, I live in the country trying to divorce from the EU. Fortunately enough, the Prime Minister has finally called for a lockdown tonight (better late than never, I guess). So I will be spending the next 3 weeks attached to my laptop - expect a few updates coming faster than before xD.

thatgremlinbich: lol, exactly. Overprotective older brothers... you've got to love them xD

Thatgremlinbitch : He's being a sneak

Guest: No comment.

BlueFireRunes: Thanks!

ghostfall: Yeah, I actually didn't do too badly.