Chapter 7 - Terms
"Perseus Jackson," Zeus said loudly, his voice echoing in the throne room.
Instantly, all chatter ceased.
Percy would never admit that he'd nearly dozed off through Zeus' rambling about the bravery of the gods and he was sort of surprised to hear his name called.
"Step forwards," Zeus ordered, sounding somewhat exasperated.
Percy slowly stepped into the centre of the throne room and bowed to the gods.
"For your… bravery, despite your unusual method, in repelling the Titans, we will grant you any wish," Zeus scowled down at Percy, as if severely displeased by him. "Which – unfortunately – I know what you will wish for."
"You… you do?" Percy questioned.
"Yes," Zeus said. "Godhood is yours if you want it."
Percy blinked. "A… a god?"
"Unfortunately," Zeus ground out.
"I…" Percy trailed off, looking back at his friends. He thought of his mother in the city below them, of his demigod friends and his life. And Kronos? The omega would probably be killed after this was all over with, and it wasn't like Kronos actually liked him. Percy shook his head. "No. With all due respect, Zeus, I respectfully decline your offer."
"You – why?" The god asked in disbelief, as if he couldn't comprehend Percy's stupidity.
"I have a life of my own," Percy said simply. "And I'm not ready to give it up yet. But, if it's not too much, I would like a wish granted."
"If it is within our power," Zeus grumbled, "then we will grant it."
"It is," Percy said. "There need to be new cabins built at Camp Half-Blood for the minor gods and Hades and the unclaimed in the Hermes Cabin need to be claimed at a certain age. Demigods joined Kronos because they felt abandoned and neglected, so we need to stop that from happening again." Percy took in a deep breath. "And all the demigods whom joined Kronos should be welcomed back to Camp."
All at once, there were protests from the gods and even some demigods in the room.
"They have committed treason," Zeus said fiercely. "But you would have us leave them?"
"You made a bargain with Kronos," Percy reminded Zeus. "Not to harm those whom followed him – that includes the demigods. Camp's the only safe place for demigods – they'll die out on their own and we demigods need to stick together. If the past two weeks has proved anything, it's that we're stronger together." Percy crossed his arms, staring up at the gods. "I hold you to your oaths – all of them."
"Very well," Zeus reluctantly relented. "But they will be watched."
"Fair enough," Percy conceded. When it was made clear that the gods were done with him, he retreated towards Thalia and Annabeth.
"You just turned down godhood," Annabeth said in disbelief.
Percy shrugged. "I don't want to have to watch everyone I love grow old," he murmured. "My mum, you, the campers… I can't do it."
"Speaking of people whom don't age," Thalia said lowly as the throne room doors opened and Kronos was marched inside.
Despite being surrounded by seven armed guards, the two at his rear pressing spears against his back and another four with swords held down at their sides, the omega didn't look concerned in the slightest. The Titan's wrists were chained together in celestial bronze and a length of chain ran from his wrists down to his fettered ankles, the other end held by the final guard.
Kronos evenly returned Zeus' hard gaze as he was forced to his knees before the council.
"Now," Zeus mused, "what do we do with you, father?"
"We cannot kill him," Athena said flatly. "He's ensured that much at least."
Kronos' lips twitched slightly, but he merely inclined his head in response.
Zeus sighed heavily, steadily tapping a finger against an arm of his untouched throne as he observed the Titan kneeling before him. "Unfortunate. Killing you would be a swift and simple solution, but if we do that, then we lose our hostage."
And that was what Kronos was. If the Titans were anywhere near as protective as Percy had become, then they wouldn't dare to take a single misstep while Kronos – their prized omega – was a hostage of the gods.
"So what to do with you?" Zeus questioned, though it was obvious that he was talking to himself.
Percy shifted slightly, drawing the god's attention. Zeus smiled – and really, that instantly had Percy on edge – and leant back. "Percy," he said, "he's your omega – what do you think we should do with him?"
Let him go free. Percy bit those words back, knowing they wouldn't be received very well. Kronos turned his head to meet Percy's gaze, golden eyes narrowed sharply at the alpha. Zeus was trying to solidify Percy's authority over the omega – Percy knew that much – in the hope that Kronos might eventually take to the bond properly.
"Well, nephew?"
So what could Percy say? He didn't want Kronos to die, and he actually wanted to have a real mate-bond with his omega. But how to do that? Kronos – as Percy had realised previously – was a free spirit. He wouldn't take well to imprisonment or even a gilded cage – he needed to run and to have his freedom. But Percy couldn't grant him that, not immediately at least.
Percy opened his mouth, and words spilled out. "I'll take him back to Camp," he said, causing furious mutters from the demigods and Chiron looked suddenly rather worn. "We can fortify the basement of the Big House to keep him in or something," he continued, warming up to the idea. "Like you said – I'm his alpha. Whether he considers it real or not doesn't matter, because I do."
Zeus observed Percy for several long moments, before turning to face Chiron. "Can it be done?"
The centaur sighed. "Yes," he said reluctantly. "With Hephaestus' help it won't take an hour. But if this is the plan then I must insist that at least his wrists remain shackled."
The god nodded. "Of course," he agreed. "Well, Kronos, these are our terms for our bargain. Demigods whom wish to return to Camp may do so, and we will not hunt down and kill the Titans whom followed you – but we will be watching them – and you will spend the rest of Perseus' life with him, your alpha."
The raw fury in Kronos' eyes, even while his expression didn't so much a twitch as he twisted where he knelt to send a hateful glare in Percy's direction, sent a shiver up Percy's spine.
"Good," Zeus said when the omega didn't say anything in response. "Then we are in agreement. Take him back to the cells while we organise his new quarters," the god ordered.
Kronos barely stopped glaring at Percy the entire time he was led from the throne room, furious with the alpha for limiting his freedom and suggesting that he be locked in a basement.
Faintly, Percy wondered what he'd just done as he stared after him.
No comments about my idea? Really? That's the first time that wattpad has outshone fanficiton by like a bajillion miles.
Matt: Ok so a black panther isn't actually a cat. There is no big cat called a panther, that's their scientific genus - Panthera. So a black panther is a melanistic (black) version of a big cat. In south america it's usually a jaguar, asia it's a leopard. North America could be a cougar, etc. Hell, there are black tigers that exist - they'd be black panthers too. But specifically, Kronos is a black jaguar - slightly larger than a black leopard, but smaller than a black tiger (if I remember that order correctly).
ShadowsClaw: Ha, fair enough. Yup. Kronos is a manipulative shit in this story. Percy is pissed, but he's more hurt by Kronos' manipulations. It's that Percy would have the support of all the demigods and Poseidon - Zeus isn't willing to risk getting Percy angry at him by killing his omega. Kronos trusts no one in this story - at least atm, but because of the former reasons, it's beneficial to have Percy's protection. Things are getting better lol, mostly because I've ignored my dad for like 2 weeks now and it's actually quite nice.