Chapter 53 - Alaska

Percy packed his bag, staring around at his cabin. It had been a long journey that he was now glad to see the end of. He let out a long breath, tucking the chain into the middle of his pack where it wouldn't make any obvious noise. It wasn't something that he could just leave in his cabin where it could easily be found, so the only option was to take it with him.

Percy just hoped that his mother wouldn't find it. He didn't want to have to explain that to her.

It was nearing the end of August, and he knew school would be starting again soon. Unfortunately, after already being in contact with his mother to let her know he had survived and was fine, she'd told him that Goode High School had expelled him for his disappearance. That was fine, it was clearly the price for saving the world.

Percy was just hoping that the Alternative High School he'd decided to enrol in would be enough to help him get into the New Rome University. He hoped he'd be able to speak to Kronos again, sure, though Percy wasn't going to wait for him to get on with his life. But Percy at least wanted to be able to speak to Kronos again to clear up everything that had happened - he still wasn't sure if Kronos had been trying to subtly help him or not.

His birthday had come and gone while he was at Camp still with no sign from the Titan. Percy hadn't been expecting anything either, he doubted that Kronos celebrated birthdays. After the first few hundred or so, Percy figured immortals just stopped counting them. Still, there was lots to keep himself occupied. Even if there was no sign of Gaea anywhere - even several weeks later - her army had still done considerable damage to the Camp and its inhabitants.

Percy lost track of the number of funerals and burial shrouds that were burnt. He was just glad he still had some friends left in the end.

Jason met Percy near the hearth, falling into step with him. "Hey," he greeted.

Percy nodded his head slightly in greeting. Jason had begun to travel back and forth between the two Camps, attempting to try to bridge the gaps between them. Percy wasn't sure how he'd do that, but privately wished him luck. But Percy himself? He just wanted to get on with his life now. He'd spent long enough going on quest after quest for the gods, and he'd had enough.

If Percy never saw an Oracle again he'd be happy.

"How's Camp Jupiter?" Percy asked finally after a few minutes of silence, everything packed into a backpack slung over one shoulder.

Jason, soon to be the new Pontifex Maximus - Percy had no idea what that was - seemed to suddenly be very busy compared to Percy. It was odd knowing that Jason had his life set in the world of the Greek deities, but Percy was still living in the mortal world. Percy preferred it that way. The gods could leave him alone for the rest of his life. "Good," Jason said. "Very busy. A lot of good Romans we've had to say goodbye to over there, Reyna's struggling with it all. I'm glad she has Frank to help her now."

"Personally, I'm glad that Octavian was launched out of that catapult," Percy said lightly. "At least he can't cause any problems now."

Jason pressed his lips together. "He should have had a trial for what he did."

"What happened saved time," Percy returned in amusement. "And he was a piece of shit. No one will miss him."

Jason shook his head slightly. "Speaking of time - Othrys is still standing, but it's been abandoned. Diana has been by with her Hunters, says she can't find any traces of anyone or anything there. Figures the Titans and their army have gone underground somewhere."

"Literally or not?" Percy asked. "With the Earth Mother on the loose…"

Jason nodded slightly. "Exactly. We know she's awake, but she's not doing anything. It's confusing. But if the Titans are underground, we can't risk smoking them out without getting Her attention. And I doubt she'll sit back as we kill another set of her children."

"I know," Percy said. "And no. I don't know where Kronos has gone," he said. He didn't miss the slight chill in the air, and it relaxed him slightly. Clearly, Kronos was at least still active enough to sense his name being said. Percy wasn't sure if that was good or bad anymore. "But it's a safe guess that they're probably at the very least talking with each other. Probably even in the same place."

Kronos and Gaea together were a vicious pair - the two had after all been responsible for the successful plot to murder Ouranos. Percy wasn't sure he wanted to know what the two were planning now.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, probably." He hesitated briefly. "Hey, Percy, about that reward from the gods-"

"Forget it," Percy dismissed. "It's not important."

Jason frowned heavily. "The others said you didn't want it before. Why now?"

"I said forget it," Percy snapped sharply.

Jason pressed his lips together. "Yeah, sorry. I just - I'm sorry, but it was kind of obvious why you wanted it. My dad would've been stupid to agree without some terms."

Percy just shrugged, shifting slightly. "Yeah, well. It's done. I've got to go, sorry. Mom and Paul are waiting for me to get back."

"Good luck with your year," Jason said with a small smile. "I don't envy you. School sounds like a nightmare."

Percy cracked a smile. "It's not so bad, as long as anything immortal or any monsters stay away."

Percy had effectively jinxed his year before it had even started.

The demigod quickly realised that for the Greek world, Gaea's war seemed to be over. She may have disappeared herself, gone to a place unknown, and her monsters fortunately seemed to mostly stay away from Percy during his first month at his new school. As for his new school itself, Percy quickly joined the swim team. Privately, his mother had suggested not doing so as Percy had an unfair advantage - but he only cheated sometimes.

In fact, the beginning of the year was so calm that Percy was certain something was going to go horribly wrong. So Percy was surprised when it didn't. He fit into the school far easier than he had before in different ones. Percy was determined to put his head down and study for his finals at the end of year to get into New Rome's University.

There were no fights, and very few monsters attacking. Those that did attack, Percy could deal with easily. After fighting as long as he had, the odd hellhound, espousa or dracaenae were easy to deal with.

Percy heard occasionally from the news, his mother and Paul specifically, that there were many more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occurring around the world. And mortals whom cut down trees or mined in the earth began to disappear, gruesome remains appearing a day or two later elsewhere. The mortals put it down to a temporary and unusual increase in encounters with predators - Percy and everyone else knew that it was Gaea interfering, using wild animals to kill the mortals removing trees and harming the earth.

But while the gods were twitchy and clearly extremely uneasy with the increase in action from the Primordial goddess, no one could track her down.

Artemis hadn't found any sign of any Titans either. They'd simply seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth.

At least, until one day when Percy was walking back through Central Park in mid-November. He'd had his last day of school for the week and was taking his time in returning home. The back of his neck prickled, and he caught sight of a blur of gold in the corner of his eye. Percy stilled, heart racing as he glanced around to see how crowded it was, before he turned to face the gold-eyed black jaguar crouched low amongst the bushes. Percy moved closer, lowered himself down and pretended to tie up a shoe lace.

"This is Manhattan, you idiot," he muttered under his breath. "You shouldn't be here."

Krinis blinked slowly at him, eyes fixed on Percy's. He let out a low, growling chuff before sliding back into the foliage. Percy paused briefly before moving after him, but he found no sign of Kronos again.

Percy let out a long breath as he continued back to the house, shoulders tense as he scanned the area around him. He doubted Kronos would be there alone. And any reason for visiting Percy in the middle of Central Park wouldn't be good either.

Percy continued on, aware of eyes watching him the entire time - but no way to know how many were doing so. If it was just one set, or more.

He half expected Kronos to follow him back into the house, but before too long he felt the presence disappear. Percy let his shoulders relax as he continued on, the presence never returning. He'd only really seen Kronos' eyes and the end of his muzzle, so he couldn't tell how Kronos was doing. But the fact that he was skulking around New York probably meant he was fine.

It was the end of the week, which meant Percy would have the whole of the weekend to search for Kronos in Manhattan if he had to. At the very least, Percy wanted to clear the air between them and find out what Kronos wanted to do - this silence was ridiculous.

Percy ended up studying for half an hour before he couldn't any longer, instead taking out Riptide and practising in his room and finding other ways to kill the time.

Percy had been fine up until that brief sighting of Kronos. Practically three months since anyone had seen him, and he happens to turn up out of the blue right next to Percy? He wanted something, which was why him disappearing again simply didn't make sense. It unsettled Percy and left him unable to focus on his schoolwork, which meant that the Titan was also interfering in Percy's future for no apparent reason.

When Percy eventually fell asleep in the evening, it was late and fitful. He'd hardly held conversation with Sally and Paul over dinner and both had clearly noticed, though little beyond checking he was okay and what was going on - to which Percy simply said issues at school, which was swiftly accepted as an appropriate answer.

So Percy was surprised when he woke up to find himself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling high above his head. The room was simple, with no furnishings and little in the way of anything.

"Oh good," an annoyingly familiar voice said. "You're awake. I'll let the Boss know."

Percy jerked upright, reaching for Riptide on a bedside table that wasn't there. He swore under his breath as he glared at the back of Alabastor Torrington. "Son of a bitch."

"Neither the Boss or his mother will appreciate that," the son of Hecate remarked before he closed the door behind him as he stepped out. Percy didn't miss the lock clicking behind him.

Percy tried the door, but wasn't surprised when it didn't budge. Then, curious, he made his way towards the windows - and his breath lurched into his throat in an odd mix of awe, shock and terror.

The flag of the Titans flapped in a chill wind that rushed over an icy tundra, standing proudly not far from the window Percy was staring out of. Little cabins stretched off a fair distance, people - clearly demigods or half-bloods - walked between them, some carrying firewood and others weapons. "What the Hades?" Percy breathed.

"One of the rules here is that the gods are not mentioned," a voice behind him said lightly. "I doubt they will find us, but one can never be too careful."

Percy tensed slightly. "Where's Riptide?" He asked. The answer came with a whisper of steel against the side of his neck. Percy side-eyed the bronze blade. "What, you going to behead me with my own sword?"

"It would make quite a gift for the sea god," Kronos mused.

"Because nothing says family bonding like gifting a severed head."

Kronos chuckled and Percy let out a relieved sigh as the sword was removed. A second later, the hilt was pressed into his palm. "If I were going to behead you, you would not have known I was here."

Percy conceded the point. "Where are we?" He asked.

"Alaska," Kronos said. "The land beyond the gods, but not beyond the Titans. Ancient deals and agreements between us and another… and being the children of the Earth itself helps. Unlike the gods, we are truly limitless."

"Why were you in New York? And, actually, how am I here and how long have I been here? If this is another Her-"

"Names-" Kronos idly warned.

"Hera - fuck off - situation then my mom is seriously going to murder you."

Kronos only chuckled. "It's early Saturday morning in New York. And I am sure that your mother is used to you disappearing at this point. No one noticed.

"How the fuck did you get me from New York to Alaska without anyone noticing?"

"Unimportant."

"You didn't say what you were doing there."

Kronos paused briefly. "Paying off part of a debt," he said. "And I won't say anything else." Percy heard the bed creak and turned to find Kronos resting his arms behind his head as he lay back on the bed. "How's your new school?"

Percy stared at him for several long moments. Kronos looked better than he ever had. The Titan's lips twitched. "It's good," he slowly said. The Titan nodded and shut his eyes, letting out a long sigh. "How have you been these two months? It looks like you've been busy," Percy prompted. "The gods have lost a Primordial, by the way. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"

"Everywhere," Kronos just said. "Gaea is everything and everywhere. The gods are welcome to try destroying the Earth itself, though they may find they have difficulty doing so. This Camp has been here for many years now, we've simply expanded it these last two months."

Percy nodded and fell silent, returning to stare out the window. Giant white wolves with glowing red eyes, each as large as a horse, padded through the snow-covered Camp. A giant eagle - fucking Aquila - screeched as he flew in the distance. The cabins had snow on the roofs. But Percy's eyes returned to the flag attached to the building he was in. "Did you mean to help us?"

"With my statue?" Kronos asked. "No. That was a fortunate coincidence… and you actually figuring something out, well done for that by the way. Aquila was always meant to help you."

"Before or after picking me up and flying away with me?"

"I left that up to him," Kronos said dryly.

"Asshole." Percy took a deep, steadying breath. "So was that always the plan? Help us take out the giants?"

Kronos chuckled. "There's a fair bit of rivalry between us and the giants. Mother was fully aware and likely expected us to squabble and fight… though probably after destroying Olympus and not before. We had a fair bit of scolding from her for that. But Mother is alive and awake again and enjoying her freedom, anything else can be considered later."

Percy slowly nodded. He pressed his lips together. "I asked the gods for immortality," he said.

"I know." The tone of amusement had dropped from Kronos' voice.

"I thought that would fix it," Percy murmured. He clenched his jaw. "But Zeus refused."

"Of course he did. He knows why you asked for it," Kronos said. "You will not see Zeus ever making you immortal."

"But you could?" Percy asked. "If you wanted to?"

"Immortality is not a gift that can be given to just anyone. And I very much doubt that you would want to be a Titan instead of a god."

"The gods just use us," Percy whispered as he stared out the window. He was surprised to see Luke walking through the Camp, bundled up in a thick coat as he walked with half a dozen others. Some Percy recognised, some he didn't. Some had formerly been known members of the Titan Army whom had been welcomed back into Camp Half-Blood - Percy found that he couldn't blame them for leaving again and coming here. "We're just pawns to them."

"Every mortal is just a pawn to immortals," Kronos said. "Your lives are so tiny that they are useless. Mortals live and die and immortals make the world around them, regardless of them."

Percy nodded slightly. "And what about me?" He asked. Percy knew of course that he was the alpha here, but that hardly seemed to matter anymore. Percy wasn't deluding himself; Kronos would do what he wanted. "Did anything happen between you and Porphyrion?"

"Obviously," Kronos said. Percy scowled, and Kronos snickered at him. "Well, it was bound to happen."

"Haven't you ever heard of loyalty?"

"Yes. But not to a mortal," Kronos drawled. "I wasn't even loyal… in the past."

"Yeah. Rhea said. You're just a little shit," Percy said tiredly. "What now?" Percy quietly asked.

"You do not try to control," Kronos stated. Percy figured he was referring to Porphyrion. But he didn't know if that was enough.

"A bit useless, considering trying will do nothing except make you want to crush me."

Kronos snorted. Percy felt Kronos' eyes on his back as silence fell for several long minutes, both of them unmoving.

"Finish school," Kronos finally said. "Go to your university. Study… whatever it is that mortals study. Live your pathetic, useless mortal life-"

"Asshole," Percy huffed.

The Titan King chuckled, a low rumble emanating from his chest. "Perhaps," he conceded. "But I will see. I cannot be a mate to a mortal, and you know this. But you also have your own pathetic life to live - the reason why you refused immortality before, that still exists."

"I know," Percy said tiredly. "And I still want that," he murmured. "I also don't want to lose you… I don't know, Kronos. It just seems unfair to expect you to just wait."

The Titan's deep breathing steadied Percy slightly. "You have time. And so do I. I will not expect you to leave everything. I have waited thousands of years. I can handle a few more," he dryly added.

Percy nodded. "Right," he said, relaxing now that that was over. "Well, to get into New Rome's University, I need to pass all of my classes, the SAT and the DSTOMP test." Kronos' nose crinkled. "So you sure as fuck had better have brought my schoolwork over too, because if not I'm blaming you when I fail."

Kronos raised an eyebrow. "I did not," he said.

Percy turned to face him. "Well, either I need a lift back to Manhattan then… or you can grab my shit and bring it here and I'll stay here for the weekend." Percy wasn't deluded. He knew that a single, short discussion wasn't going to sort out everything - far from it. But at least he knew Kronos wasn't going to kill him, and that the Titan was considering the whole mate thing.

Kronos grunted before he stood and stretched.

"Why?" Percy asked then, before Kronos could leave and grab his work.

"Porphyrion, Rhea - every other immortal runs by tradition. The gods are no different. To them, omegas are nothing, unimportant, not fit to think independently. I am not a fool. I knew Porphyrion would have never allowed me to move without his knowledge. But neither was I pleased with the way things began," Kronos said. "I should not have been given no other choice than to mate with you."

"I know," Percy tiredly said. It had chewed away at Percy for so long, when he found out how the gods had used that moment in which Kronos had been cornered to try to bring Kronos under Olympus' control through Percy. But at least Percy had his answer.

Kronos nodded slightly. Kronos had said it without saying it, that Percy wouldn't withhold freedom of movement from Kronos. Percy knew he couldn't even if he stupidly wanted to.

"So - bags or lift?" Percy asked with a small smile.

Kronos scowled slightly at him, before he was gone from the room in a whirlwind of golden wings.

I've been on holiday for a few days… so suddenly have lots of time to write! Its great.

No reviews this time… hopefully I'll get some for this one? XD