Chapter 39 - The Grove of Dodona

The amazement of being on Mount Ida quickly grew old.

Hagno had said that Rhea's grove was at the base of the mountain, which in hindsight wasn't nearly as helpful as it had initially seemed. Mount Ida, while not the largest mountain, still covered a wide area and spending several hours hunting for a grove of trees within the forested surroundings was not what Jason had been anticipating.

When they had encircled the base of the mountain with entirely no sign of the Grove, Jason was just about ready to scream up at the sky and demand some assistance. Were it not for the eyes of Frank, whom had decided to turn into and eagle and hunt for the Grove from above, they would never have found it. Near-impossible to find from the ground, it seemed that the Grove was marked only by the taller oak trees which towered over all others – and was only particularly visible from the sky.

The Grove of Dodona didn't look like anything special, but Jason wasn't an expert on Ancient Groves. All of the trees seemed extremely old, and Jason could feel eyes on him as he stepped into their towering embrace.

"This is it?" Leo asked dubiously. "It just looks like any other grove we passed through."

"This is it," Piper confirmed. She hesitated before following after Jason. "It feels… old. Sad. Very different to the rest of the area." It was odd, having the ability to sense the trees. But Piper supposed that as a daughter of Aphrodite, emotions were within her abilities – even if those emotions came from ancient trees. She also doesn't miss the deep tawny coats of the dozen or so lions sprawled out in the shade of the grove, watching the demigods with sharp amber eyes.

"Rhea?" Jason called. He wasn't exactly sure how they were supposed to get the deity's attention. Hagno had mentioned a sacrifice, but they had very little they could sacrifice. Jason had brought along the Roman standard, and Frank still had Achilles' spear, but beyond that they had only their own weapons. And the standard wasn't even cooperating since Kronos had turned on them and taken Percy, the jaguar growing cold and still. The lion paced along the top of the golden standard, baring its teeth every time it eyed the jaguar.

"We need to sacrifice something," Piper said.

"But what?" Leo asked. "We need our weapons, and that standard – when it works – is useful."

"Something magical," Hazel suggested in the brief silence that descends. "It needs to be enough to get Rhea's attention. Something important."

Its Frank whom moves forward, taking Achilles' spear.

Jason gapes at him. "Achilles' spear? Frank, that's a priceless artifact of history."

"Which is exactly why we should sacrifice it," Frank said. "Besides, I prefer my bow. It's wasted on me." He hesitated briefly, before turning to Leo. "Can I have a fire?" He questioned warily.

Leo huffs, not liking burning the priceless spear any more than Jason, but he holds his hand out and summons a contained flame above his hand. Frank places the spear on the grass at their feet, and Leo sets the ancient weapon aflame.

Jason winces as he watches. For a weapon that had lasted thousands of years, its incinerated by the fire rather quickly. The flames eat away at the wooden shaft, the metal point glowing white-hot. The shaft breaks down, ash rising up into the air in a plume that arcs overhead as it catches with the wind.

"To Lady Rhea," Frank said.

Under the shadows of the giant trees, the lions grumble. The male stretches, spreading wide paws out before him as he yawns, revealing giant canines.

At the far end of the Grove the air shimmers as if a mirage. As the point of Achilles' spear melts into liquid metal, a woman forms from the shimmering air.

The first thought that Jason has is: Hera. But he swiftly notices the details, that this deity has eyes of emerald, not the deep brown that he knows Hera has. There's a gentility to her, a kindness in her eyes that is nothing like Hera. And yet, he can see from her stern expression, that deep sorrow in her eyes, that this deity is likely to be far more volatile than Hera is. A similarity to Kronos there, but Jason supposed that as the former Queen of the Titans she had the very same tendencies as her brothers and sisters: the same ichor contained in them flowed through her.

The deep green Dorian peplos which reached down to her ankles rustled as she moved, pronouncing her bronze skin from eons spent outside underneath a Greek sun. Her hair, tamed in a braided chignon in the classic style of ancient Greek wives, was a deep brown.

"Heroes," she mused. "What, exactly, are you doing trespassing in my Grove?"

The first time Luke had revealed himself to be a traitor, when he'd told Percy that he was the Lightning Thief, Annabeth had been stunned. Gods knew she'd been struggling with that for years, trying to reconcile the Luke she knew with the one whom had protected her when she was younger. Then the war had its anticlimactic ending and Luke, among with the other traitor demigods, had been allowed back into Camp Half-Blood by a reluctant Zeus as par the agreement between the Olympians and Kronos. Having Luke back, even if he'd been more bitter and wary, had been all that she had wanted for so long. With Percy having mated with Kronos, Annabeth had turned towards Luke instead. While nothing had really happened between them, the short period being alike to the old days with Thalia when they'd been on the run and looking out for each other, Annabeth had at least started to trust him again.

Evidently a mistake, Annabeth mused. Being forced to march through Tartarus, led by an enemy Titan with a traitorous demigod taking up the rear, was far from what Annabeth had expected. While she'd never expect her time in Tartarus to be easy, Luke's betrayal had cut deep.

It seemed that any men she liked were liable to not like her in return. Maybe Thalia had the right idea by running off to join Artemis' Hunters.

But, really, she didn't know why she was so surprised. Luke's loyalty to Kronos extended far, perhaps in part due to the Titan being an omega, and Luke an alpha. Annabeth wouldn't be surprised if Kronos had used his predisposition to his advantage by manipulating both alphas and betas into a distorted form of loyalty. It was a sure way to make your men loyal to you if you pulled on their natural instincts.

"You said this has been planned for months," Annabeth finally said. Her ankle landed awkwardly and she stumbled, cursing as pain shot up the fragile injury that had still not quite healed from her first encounter with Arachne. "How many?"

Luke shrugged. "I've only known about it for a few," he admitted. "Kronos likes his secrets."

Hyperion chuckled, the sound rumbling into the ground. "Oh, we all knew Mother would rise after us. Kronos was talking to her years ago regarding their plans. Even if we had fallen against Olympus, Mother would have resurrected us for her war – Kronos included. That was the plan. Of course, for that to work he'd have to be in his own form if he was killed, otherwise it would have been rather messy. He'd have been scattered, unable to take a physical form again. It was risk, but one we had to take. Rather fortunate that Jackson angered him, eh?" Hyperion smirked, wicked eyes gleaming in the darkness. In fact, Annabeth noted, the Titan's entire body was glowing. "Else we'd be two down."

"Two?" Annabeth questioned.

The Titan erupted into flames, and Annabeth yelped in surprise as she jerked back from him, straight into Luke. The traitor snatched hold of her arm with his free hand, steadying her with a frown. "Gods-damned temper," he muttered under his breath. Annabeth spared a moment to be fervently glad that there was no vegetation in Tartarus, else she was sure that the Titan would've just started a raging fire.

"Iapetus," Hyperion growled, his hands clenching through the flames. "Jackson pulled him into the Lethe. As far as our brother is aware, he's a janitor for Hades – called Bob. Bah, it's a disgrace! Turning an amnesiac Titan into an unpaid janitor!"

"Bob?" Annabeth echoed. "That sounds like something Percy would do."

Hyperion snapped around to her and Annabeth thought that maybe now, when facing an already-irate flaming Titan, wasn't a time to be making jokes. "You will all pay for everything you have done!"

"And what about what you've done?" Annabeth retorted. "I know the stories of you Titans, I know what the so-called Golden Age was like."

"Annabeth—" Luke hissed from behind her, but Hyperion's booming voice completely drowned out what else he said.

"You know nothing!"

"I know you all thought nothing of mortals," Annabeth retorted. "That we're nothing but cockroaches to all of you. Cockroaches that may have learnt to talk and walk, but nothing more than that. What you all did, it's no wonder that you're all at home here amongst the rest of the mon—"

Hyperion exploded, fire bursting out in all directions. Annabeth swore and dove to the side to escape the flames. Note to self: do not anger ill-tempered Titans. "Home?!" Hyperion boomed. "You think this is our home?" Reaching down, he plucked Annabeth off the ground with ease, holding her suspended half a dozen feet in the air. Panicked, Annabeth grabbed at the Titan's burning hands, but clawing at them did little to dissuade him. If anything, it seemed to make him even angrier – that this cockroach thought that would do anything to harm him must be a truly baffling thought.

"Let me be the first to tell you now, child of Athena," Hyperion glowered, sneering Athena's name as if it were beyond his comprehension that she was the daughter of the goddess of wisdom. He may have a point there, Annabeth thought. "I am a Titan, borne of Earth and Sky eons ago, before that weasel Prometheus was even a whisper of a thought. We were born to walk the Earth, not to waste away in this stinking Pit! We've had enough!"

"Hyperion—!"

The Titan's jaw clenched. "So you insult me all you want, it doesn't change anything – you're still going to—"

Annabeth wasn't entirely sure what happened. There was an explosion of something, a pitched roar, and shrapnel ripped towards them. Hyperion's flames grew in strength and roared in response, incinerating the shards to straight-up liquid. The landscape around them – everything – rippled, from the cavern walls in the distance to the ground half a dozen feet below Annabeth.

Hyperion dropped her as he turned to face this threat, looking like that single effort of defence had taken more out of him than it would initially seem – it wasn't certain that he could stop a second assault. Annabeth swore as she landed heavily on her feet. But as she glanced past Hyperion, even as Luke helped her up, the greater concern was the giant body condensing from the dark mist a hundred or so feet away from them.

Luke ground his teeth. "Hyperion, you fucking idiot," he hissed.

Hyperion growled at him. "Shut up!"

"If you think Kronos will call you anything but an idiot," Luke continued. "Then think again."

It took a few seconds, but once the towering form before them was formed, Annabeth could do nothing but stare. Next to her, Luke had his sword up and ready, though what exactly he intended to do with it, Annabeth wasn't certain. Could the dark god before them even be harmed?

Hyperion's flames and anger dissipated. All of his former confidence had faded. "Ah. Step-father." The Titan cleared his throat, chuckling nervously. "So good to set eyes on you again," he said.

"Lady Rhea," Jason greeted, lowering himself into a deep bow. His fellow demigods swiftly followed suit. The male lion paced over, chuffing as he moved to greet Rhea.

The Titaness' smile was half-hearted. Jason had the feeling that Rhea would prefer to be left in peace. "Your sacrifice," she said. "I have not seen it's like for many eons." The lion nuzzled against her palm, and her cool smile warmed a fraction. "It is good to see you too, Simba," Rhea greeted.

"You named your lion Simba?" Leo blurted, disbelief in his tone.

The former Queen raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Why?"

"No reason," Leo said, deciding not to mention the film Lion King.

Rhea's eyes narrowed slightly at him, evidently not trusting him in the slightest. Her green eyes, the same brilliant shade one might see should they look down upon the Amazon, seemed to turn to steel as she gathered herself. "I suppose Hagno sent you?"

Jason hesitated. "Yes," he admitted. "She had hoped you might know where Amalthea is."

The Titaness is silent for several long moments. "Yes," she mused. "I am aware. She and the rest of those nymphs have been relentless in their requests for assistance. Since I have not yet answered, evidently she saw fit to turn to you. In the hopes that you could succeed where they have thus failed."

"You've refused to help them?" Nico asked in disbelief. "Why?"

"I merely said I have not yet answered," Rhea corrected sharply. She pressed her lips together. "When Zeus was born, I did not know how I could hide him. How I could possibly keep him from learning of Zeus' existence." Thunder rumbled overhead as if in response, rain blanketing the ground everywhere but the Grove. "It was Mother whom supplied my answer." Rhea continued as if Zeus' tantrums were a regular occurrence. "Mother whom produced that rock, Mother whom kept him distracted whilst Zeus was being born. If Gaea had not helped me then, Zeus would have never survived to adulthood. And He would have never been stopped."

"Kronos, you mean," Frank guessed. The trees around them creaked and groaned, the thunder overhead raging as lightning exploded in the sky for miles in all directions. A combination of mentioning Kronos, and Zeus' anger rising in response.

Rhea glowered. "Do not speak his name, fool," she snapped. And in that instant, as Frank recoiled, Jason recalled that while this deity was the Mother of the gods, she was also the daughter of Gaea. Her eyes, formerly gentle and kind, suddenly resembled the raging fury within Kronos' own. The pain from past events no doubt damaging for even an immortal's soul. "Gaea helped me stop him, how can I repay her by turning on my own Mother? I am not him."

Piper took a step forwards, though how she managed it in the face of Rhea's anger Jason didn't know. "He hurt you," Piper said, "as he's hurt many people. Our friend included – he kidnapped Percy Jackson a little over a week ago. We… we don't know if he's alive or not," she admitted.

Rhea hesitated. "I had heard that he was wondering around," she said slowly, looking rather anxious at the thought. "It is why I stay here." Her hands fisted at her side. "As long as he does not find me, I am safe."

"But what about everyone else?" Piper questioned. She pressed her lips together, unsure how far she should press this deity. Rhea was an unknown, if only due to there being very few mentions of her. After Kronos' dethroning, she seemed to fade into the background. Understandable, since Rhea had been the root of everything that had happened to her own brethren. "He's helping your Mother," Piper said. "He's been deceiving us all for months now. Everyone… everyone is in danger from him right now. If your Mother wins, then he will be left to move unchecked. To do what he wishes."

The Titaness snorted. "He deceives everyone," Rhea retorted sharply. She smoothed down her peplos, hands shaking slightly. "The Great Deceiver. Crooked One. If anyone ever expects him to be nice to someone, they'll be in for a very rude awakening. Alpha or beta, it matters little to him – all can be manipulated and destroyed in the exact same ways." She pressed her lips together. "It's all a game to him."

"We need to stop them," Piper said. "But the only way to do so is to get to the Doors of Death."

"We can't do that until Jupiter lifts the storm," Jason added.

Rhea winced, her form flickering slightly. She pressed her fingers against her forehead. "Mind the names," she warned. "But… if it means stopping him…" She sighed. "How did it come to this?" The Titaness whispered, looking rather mournful. "I tried," she murmured. "But I failed."

"It seems to be a constant for him," Nico added rather helpfully. "Any alpha and he'll do his best to inconvenience them."

Rhea seemed rather startled. "Alpha?" Her lips twitched into a tired smile. "I see his games continue even now. Even here. I've flattered, grandson, but I'm no alpha – just a beta."

Nico's eyes furrowed. "But I thought—"

"As I said. Alpha or beta, it matters little to him," Rhea said. "They're all the same in his eyes." Jason slowly shook his head, his jaw tightening. One after another, Kronos' lies and manipulations were unravelling at the seams. "Enceladus took Amalthea," Rhea admitted to them. "He hoped to gather Zeus' attention, and it seems that he has succeeded in this endeavour."

"Great," Leo muttered. "Him."

Rhea's lips twitched. "He took her to Ideon Andron, a cave system not far from here."

Hazel's eyes furrowed. "Caves?"

"Yes," Rhea said. "More than caves though. The caves in which Zeus was born, many eons ago." The Titaness sighed. "I can hide you from my Mother's sight," she said. "And I can assist you against my half-brother. But, in getting there and freeing Amalthea, you are on your own."

Jason nodded his head. That was honestly more than he'd expected. "Thank you, Lady Rhea," he said.

"On one condition," Rhea added. At her feet, one of Simba's amber eyes flicked open.

"What condition, Lady Rhea?" Piper questioned.

Rhea's gaze hardened. "When you all catch Kronos," she said. "Don't let him trick his way out this time. Don't fall for his manipulations."

Jason nodded, his expression firm. "We can do that," he promised.

"Swear it on the Styx," Rhea ordered.

The son of Jupiter swallowed, hesitant. "I swear on the River Styx that we won't let him trick us," he finally said. "No matter what it takes, none of us will be letting him get away this time."

For everyone who was waiting for a Rhea show, I hope I did her justice! I figure her past with Kronos will be haunting. No one ever gets over that shit. But, despite that, she was the first one to dare to stand up to Kronos... As for down in Tartarus, I'm putting a different spin on the Tartarus thing. I mean, technically if you think about it, the Titans have been living with their step-father for the past few thousand years. Thats got to mean some pretty interesting family reunions. At this point, Tartarus has got to be fed up with having them around... and just completely done with their shit.

molleybrat00 (chap 5): thanks

ghostfall: Thanks xD. Assuming that's a good holy shite.

Terrorisk123: Lol. Evil vegetables xD. Can you imagine? Besides, maybe Kronos' vomit is magical, you never know. I wouldn't be surprised if it was after all the crazy shit in greek mythology.

Thatgremlinbitch: *evil laughter* Annabeth is in the middle of a crisis lmao. And she has every right to freak out xD. As for Kronos, that's good! But just remember it's all his own fault.

1234booklover: Maybe? A few more surprises still to come ;). That's nice to hear, I always like it when things end up being a surprise to all of you. It's much more entertaining for me then.

Mistress1296: *silence* I will say nothing.

thegoldraven: Well.. going by the dynamics of a lion's pride, the new alpha male kills all the pups of the previous alpha male when they take over. But of course that has nothing to do with this story *nervous laughter*.