Chapter 41 - Son of Magic

Zeus' fury had lit up the sky for miles around the Argo II once they had finished telling him everything they could all remember. The King of the gods had left with a parting promise of finding Kronos, since apparently the Titan hadn't been too subtle as he had ventured around the world. According to him, Artemis would be able to track the Titan Lord down and with some luck find where the Giants were hiding at the same time. After Jason had reminded Zeus about Percy, the sky god had reluctantly agreed to sent the demigod back to them if the Olympians found him still alive.

The Argo II had been directed to continue on towards Epirus, to the Doors of Death.

Jason was reluctant, but he knew that the closing of the Doors was the priority. The gods would handle Kronos. First, however, Zeus had removed the time statis on the nine decapitated bodies of the Kouretes whom had tried to defend Amalthea. Jason knew the nine Kouretes had been baby Zeus' protectors when he was younger, singing and dancing loud enough to cover the new-born's screams so Kronos couldn't find him. As the demigods had suspected, Zeus had confirmed that it had been Kronos whom had decapitated them.

Leo spun his wii remote once they were all aboard, starting to turn the Argo II around. "Epirus?" He asked.

"The Doors of Death," Nico muttered. He frowned. "Rhea – a Titan – counted as a god against Enceladus, right?"

Jason nodded. "Yes," he said. "Why?"

"I'm willing to bet that there will be a Giant at the Doors," Nico said.

Hazel nodded. "It's likely," she agreed.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Well, unless you have a Titan in your pocket, we'll have to hope we have some godly intervention."

Nico smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do."

Jason pressed his lips together. "They can be trusted?"

"Yes," Nico said firmly.

"Alright," Jason said, trusting the son of Hades' word. "See if you can convince them to help. We're heading to Epirus."


Annabeth was about to snap.

Since leaving Tartarus himself behind them, Hyperion had been brooding and Luke hadn't said a word, only poking her occasionally with the point of his sword to keep her limping along being the Titan.

The silence was starting to get on Annabeth's nerves.

She was wishing for a monster attack, if only for some action. Though she doubted any monster would be so stupid as to attack Hyperion. If there was one good thing that came out of Hyperion finding them, it was finding the Doors of Death quickly. Annabeth knew that without Luke and Hyperion she'd have been hopelessly lost, though she wasn't fond of being their prisoner either.

"The Giants," Annabeth finally said to break the silence. Hyperion's stony silence continued, and Luke shifted his grip on his sword. "If Kronos is the one still running the show," she said, "what does he plan with Porphyrion? Why is he willing to mate with Porphyrion?"

That made Hyperion chuckle. "Who said he is?" He asked in amusement. "Kronos is Kronos, he's a free spirit. If Porphyrion thinks he's actually going to end up mating with Kronos he's going to be surprised." The Titan's fiery eyes gleamed. "Let the Giants be our shock troops," Hyperion said. "When all of this is said and done, both Giants and gods will be suffering down here. Just as Kronos promised Tartarus. Tartarus lives off the suffering of immortals, off their screams and their pain and fear."

Annabeth gaped at him. "What makes you think it'll work?" She asked. "Who's stronger – Kronos or Porphyrion?"

"Or Zeus," Luke muttered from behind her.

"Or Zeus," Annabeth agreed. Though she assumed that Zeus was weaker than the sons of Gaea.

Hyperion snorted in amusement. "Zeus doesn't stand a chance."

"But does Kronos?" Annabeth pressed. "If he's not on top of his game, Porphyrion could win."

"Kronos is always on top of his game," Hyperion snapped.

Annabeth opened her mouth to answer, but the words died in her throat. Over the rise of the mound they had just climbed she saw what seemed to be a churning and ever-shifting mass. Purple lightning flickered above and beyond the valley, but beneath the mass... Annabeth swallowed. "Is that…"

"The Doors of Death," Hyperion said with obvious glee. He smiled.

"It's a chasm," Annabeth said in surprise. There were glowing chains reaching down into the chasm and embedded in the rocky ground a dozen feet from the mouth. "The chains – Luke–"

"Move," Luke ordered, expression blank as he shoved her down the slope after Hyperion.

Annabeth swore as she landed on her twisted ankle. It had been bad enough hobbling all the time. "We need to cut the chains, Luke," she insisted.

Luke laughed at her. "Yeah, because either Hyperion or I are just going to let you cut them when we need them."

The daughter of Athena paled. "We need them cut, Luke."

"That sounds like it's your problem," Luke retorted as he pushed her towards the Doors again.


Two hours after taking off, the Argo II was well on its way to Epirus – just reaching the Saronic Islands – when the shadows off the main deck churn. Nico stumbles out, swaying even as the large hulking form wielding a broom appears behind him.

Jason summons his sword on instinct, and Nico shoves it aside with a frown. "Jason, meet Bob. Bob – Jason." He gestures back to the silver-haired Titan behind him, whom seems far more interested in staring up at the sun overhead. "Hey, Bob, staring up at the sun isn't good for your eyes," Nico added.

The Titan looked ecstatic as his gaze lingered on the sky overhead. His eyes bright, Bob turned back to face Jason. "I'm Bob!" He exclaimed happily to himself.

Jason hesitated, but Nico's eyes narrowed, so the son of Jupiter put his sword away. "Ah. Hi, Bob." Jason recalled what Nico had said about the Titan that Percy had shoved into the Lethe, how he'd renamed him Bob. He knew that Bob didn't have his memories, but he still felt threatened by the large immortal standing behind Nico. Whether Bob knew it or not, he was a Titan. "You're going to help us?"

Bob beamed, looking decidedly unthreatening. "Nico asked for help. Bob said he could!" The Titan exclaimed, looking extremely proud of himself.

"That's great, Bob," Jason said.

The Titan of the Underworld nodded his head. "Yes, the Doors of Death," he said. "I know them!"

Nico seemed both surprised and concerned. "What – exactly – do you remember, Bob?"

Jason could recall Kronos with perfect clarity. Darken Iapetus' hair to near-black, change his eyes and remove a little muscle and he could have been Kronos' twin. Considering that Kronos was now being hunted by the gods, Jason wasn't too surprised that he was so wary around this new Titan. For all they knew, Bob had already recovered his memories and was biding his time.

Jason decided to keep his thoughts to himself.

Bob's expression darkened slightly and he clenched his hand around his broom. "Dark," he said. "Cold – hot." He frowned. "The Doors."

"You've seen them?" Leo questioned curiously. Nico shot the other a fierce glower and Leo winced.

The Titan seemed confused, not sure where or how he'd seen the Doors of Death. "Yes."

"What do they look like?" Hazel asked. "We need to know," she added when Nico turned his glare onto her. "Knowing will help," she insisted.

Bob frowned thoughtfully. "Purple," he finally said. "A purple gap."

"A gap?" Leo echoed. "As in the clothing store?"

Jason certainly appreciated Leo's humour. It pulled a few snickers and even a smile from Nico. Bob, however, frowned. "Store?"

Leo gaped at him. "You don't know what a store is?"

The Titan, whom had spent the past few thousand years in Tartarus or the Underworld where there was a distinct lack of stores, cocked his head to the side. "No?"

"We should take you to a clothing store when we're done in Epirus," Leo said. "Get you some clothes other than a janitor's uniform."

Bob beamed. "Bob would like that," he said.


Since learning that the Moly was the difference between life and death for the Giants, Percy had tried his utmost to destroy the plants.

He had lifted water out of the soil, leaving them bone dry in an effort at killing them, only for the Statue of Saturn to glow and hydrate the saplings. Percy had tried to move – for the first time in what he assumed was days – so he could carefully dig them up, but had quickly given up with that idea when his stomach ached with a vengeance and left him breathless as his wound throbbed. Not for the first time, Percy considered cursing Kronos to the Void (and then back, since Percy couldn't live with being the one to do that to Kronos, even after everything that the Titan Lord had done). Percy's third idea had been setting fire to the damn things with the Greek fire torches, but again that involved moving, and Greek fire was notoriously difficult to stop once it had started. Percy would probably just as quickly incinerate himself as he would the Moly.

So the Moly was there to stay.

The wall rumbled, and Alabastor Torrington stepped through, a plate of food in his hands. "Breakfast," he said to Percy.

Percy's eyes furrowed. "I had breakfast two hours ago."

The son of Hecate grinned. "Did you? Maybe that was lunch."

"If that was lunch," Percy said slowly, "this would be dinner."

Torrington's grin widened into a smirk. "Would it?" He shrugged. "Whoops. Seems I've lost track of the time of day. Silly me."

The son of Poseidon knew that was a common tactic. Get your prisoner confused, make them think day was night and night was day. But, for the love of Poseidon, he didn't know if it was midnight or midday. "I take it this was Kronos' idea?"

"Yes." He put the plate down next to Percy. "Would it have been anyone else's?"

"Might be Porphyrion's. He seems to like my suffering."

The other demigod smirked. "Trust me, Porphyrion's hatred of you doesn't come anywhere close to Kronos'." He nudged the plate closer towards Percy. "Best eat up. That's going to the hellhounds if there's any left."

Percy sighed, but he picked up the plastic cutlery and began to eat. "So," he said in between mouthfuls, "any news on Annabeth?"

Torrington rolled his eyes, which Percy was completely expecting. "What makes you think I'll tell you anything?"

"Because we're both demigods," Percy said. He frowned down at the food, not entirely sure what it was. It didn't taste very nice, but he couldn't afford to be picky. "What about the Moly?"

The mage shrugged. "Magical properties, and very difficult to get your hands on because it has to be picked by an immortal." He glanced over at the Moly. "But perfectly safe for mortal hands once it's been picked."

Percy cocked his head to the side. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Hey, you already know what one of its uses is," the son of Hecate said. "I figure Lord Kronos wouldn't particularly care if I told you that." He nodded to Percy's food. "If you're done with that," he said, "I'll take it away."

The son of Poseidon scowled, though he continued eating his second breakfast in as many hours. Alabaster settled down a dozen feet away from him. Not for the first time, Percy considered strangling the other demigod, but knew his stomach would hurt far too much for him to be able to do so.

After a few more mouthfuls, Percy paused. "What about Kronos?" The glower he received in return was fierce, but Percy refused to back down. "I have every right to know how he is."

"Not for much longer," Alabaster said. He sighed and shook his head. "Look, this is still technically Kronos' war. Not the Gigantes'."

Percy's eyes furrowed. "What? But Porphyrion and the rest–"

The son of Hecate shook his head. "Gaea agreed with Kronos that if he failed, she'd get them involved. Porphyrion's single term was having Kronos as his payment."

The alpha glowered. "He's not having Kronos," he seethed. "If he even tries I'll rip his arms off."

Torrington just laughed at him. "You're stuck in here with the Moly, Jackson. Good luck even getting to your feet." He pressed his lips together. "You're going to be too late anyway. Porphyrion was only waiting for Kronos to finish his task with the Moly before he was going to start trying."

Percy swallowed. "He's…" His heart felt as if it had been torn out of his chest and stomped beneath Porphyrion's stupid dragon feet. "But, Kronos is mine, Porphyrion can't–"

The scowl Alabaster Torrington directed towards him was utterly scathing. "You don't get it, do you, Percy?" He demanded. "It's nothing to do with you. You don't get to choose whom Kronos mates with and whom he doesn't – and those stupid gods don't either. Quite frankly, you two were never mated in the first place, so you have no right to say what either or them can or can't do."

Percy gaped at him. "But –"

"You still don't understand, do you?" The other demigod demanded. "I led Kronos' demigod army when we besieged Manhattan," he spat. "I was among those whom fled from the United Nations building when the gods attacked us. Do you know what it was like, those first few weeks before Prometheus found us survivors? The monsters turned on us. They were killing us all off, because we'd promised them a cataclysm of Olympus."

"The gods let you all come back," Percy retorted. "Zeus swore he would." Percy could've sworn he heard thunder rumble at the name of the King of the gods. Alabaster looked uneasy as he glanced up at the cavern's ceiling. "Luke came back."

Torrington snorted in amusement. "Luke came back because Kronos wanted someone at Camp whom he could trust, and whom would be accepted into Camp without pause." His hands clenched into fists. "The rest of us didn't want to go back to Camp. By Chaos, even Luke didn't want to go back, and most of my siblings were already dead anyway! Why would we want to go back to the place we'd all left for a reason? We knew we wouldn't be accepted back, despite what the gods may have said, and we were fine with that. Kronos' army became my home, Perseus – more than Camp ever was." His green eyes flashed with venom. "You ruined my home. My days on the Princess Andromeda, my days fighting at my siblings' sides – Chaos, at Kronos' side as his second, being trusted by him – were the best damn days of my life. And it's all gone. Most of my siblings are dead, most of those that aren't dead don't want to see me again, and it's all because of you." He swallowed thickly, green eyes shining. "You deserve everything that's happening," he hissed furiously. "And when your blood is finally spilled to flower the Moly, as Kronos watches, I'm going to laugh. I hope Kronos keeps you alive after, if only so I can pay you back for everything you've ever done to me."

Percy shut his eyes. "I barely even know you," he whispered, voice breaking slightly. The pure hatred in the son of Hecate's eyes was astounding.

"Yeah? Well that's your mistake, isn't it?" Alabaster crouched to retrieve Percy's unfinished second breakfast, taking it away out of mere spite. "I just hope you think it was all worth it in the end, Jackson. Because I think you don't give nearly as much thought for the rest of us as you think."

The wall rumbled open, but Percy paid it no mind, keeping his gaze on the other demigod.

"Al," a voice said. "If you're done with him, Kronos has called a meeting. There's been an unexpected development."

"I've just finished," Torrington muttered, eyes still on Percy. They still burned with anger, but he was remarkably composed as he rose to his feet. "Have fun with the Moly, Jackson. I don't suppose you'll be alive much longer."


So... next chapter: THE DOORS OF DEATH. Everyone will come together for a Giant smack-down in Epirus. *evil laughter* This is where the fun begins!

Fates Moonlight Demon: It seems that recent days people I know have been creeping out of the woodwork o-O! Dunno if you've changed your number, you haven't replied on whatsapp. Fanfiction is the only thing keeping me sane right now.

Terrorisk123: Yeah, sure. Let's go with pepperoni. I think that since pretty much EVERYTHING out of an immortal is magical, Kronos' vomit can be magical too.

Guest: Yeah, even the Titans are wary of the Giant King. Yes, Rhea needs therapy - from a proper therapist. As for Kronos... you'll see.

thegoldraven: Yeah. Just imagine Zeus hitting Porphyrion with lightning over and over and over... and nothing sticks. I think it's a brilliant story, shows just how desperate Zeus can get. Lol, yeah - Tartarus' kids suck. Imagine the nightmares for the ones stuck in Kronos' stomach (assuming they could sleep).

1234booklover: Trickery... check. Lol. Because Kronos isn't a nice person? Zeus and Kronos meeting... not next chapter. Maybe the chapter after?