The journey to the Phlegethon was...interesting. They managed to avoid some of the bigger monsters on their journey and discovered that Kronos cannot be seen nor heard by anyone but Percy and Artemis. Guess how they found out? The answer was he stood before a drakon they were hiding from and screamed at it to attack them. It moved through him as if he wasn't there, which, he wasn't. That seemed to have infuriated the titan lord, who complained for days in the unfairness of it all. Why only Percy and Artemis could see him they didn't know. Kronos suspected it was in part because he was bound to Percy's soul, and Artemis was there for the blast. The huntress did not seem enthusiastic at the idea that she could have some connection to the titan. He remained quiet since his outburst however, to which the two were grateful. During their travels, Artemis had filled Percy in on the events of the Giants War and the subsequent decades that followed. Percy shared a few of his own stories as well to pass the time. Upon reaching the river of fire, Artemis looked to Percy questioningly, his spear still strapped to her back.

"Do I just...?" she trailed off. The past couple days had been hard of the goddess. Her sores and boils had gotten much worse, her skin was covered in them. She also broke down into a coughing fit every few minutes. Percy didn't know if it would kill her, but it wasn't pleasant to watch her suffer.

Percy nodded. "Just shove your hands in and down it. The less you think about it the better it will be," he told her. He looked out at the fields of sharp rocks around them. He couldn't see anything, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

Artemis kneeled down next to the raging river. She quickly shot her hands into the fires before pulling them out and downing the liquid fire. She coughed before falling to her knees and retched as the fires coursed through her being. Her boils and sores slowly healed as she regained her composure. She wiped the spittle from her mouth before standing. "That was...unpleasant," she said as she caught her breath.

"You get used to it," Percy responded with a shrug. "Now come on. We need to get you to the doors."

"Do you know where they are?" she asked as she approached him. Her eyes wandered over the fields looking for any threat. She had been taking her cues from Percy. This was his territory and she was out of her element.

Percy smiled. "Of course. They're at Damasen's hut."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "The place you've been staying? Why is it there?"

"I don't know," Percy answered as he began walking away from the river and to the hut. Artemis followed close behind. "It just popped up one day. Part of me thinks Tartarus had a hand in it. It keeps monsters coming to challenge me for access to the doors. They all fail, but..."

"Wouldn't they be gone by now?" she asked. "You've been gone for weeks."

Percy shook his head. "Most monsters are too scared of the swamp and the possibility of me being there to try. The stronger ones take longer to reform. I think the last to try was Antaeus. Without his healing ability, he didn't last long."

Artemis nodded in understanding. "Have there been any titans wanting to use it?"

Percy shook his head. "To be honest? Since Annabeth escaped and I evaded Tartarus, I haven't seen very many divine beings. I've mainly only see Phlegethon and Styx. I occasionally visit Lethe, but she never remembers. I still make sure to visit every so often to give her company."

The goddess looked at Percy questioningly. "Why do you visit her if she doesn't remember?"

Percy shrugged. "Good company is hard to come by down here."

Percy grabbed Artemis and threw her into a depression in the ground. Artemis rolled through the rough grains of black sand before coming to a stop. The goddess began climbing to her feet. Before she could yell at Percy, the demigod wrapped his hand around her mouth. He held a finger to his mouth, shushing the irritable goddess. Artemis looked like she wanted to argue but nodded. Percy led her to a fallen black pillar and crouched behind it. Artemis and Percy looked over the edge of the pillar to the lip of the depression. They saw nothing. "What is it?" Artemis whispered.

Percy said nothing, his fierce sea green eyes focused straight ahead at the lip of the depression. Artemis opened her mouth to ask again when she heard it, a slight hissing sound. Over the edge of the depression, the head of a dracanae appeared. The dragon woman wore a bronze helmet and wielded a spear and shield. She hissed as she walked past and more dracaena followed, each armed and armored the same. The group appeared to have not noticed them and continued on their way. Percy waited several minutes before rising. "Sorry about that, Lady Artemis," Percy apologized as he climbed to his feet. "They seemed to have come out of nowhere."

"What are they doing?" Artemis asked as she dusted off her dirty clothes. "Do groups of dracanae usually patrol Tartarus in full war gear?"

Percy's gaze looked up above the depression. "No," he answered. "They do not."

"They must be preparing for war," Kronos spoke for the first time in days. His golden spectral form appeared on the other side of the pillar. "But they wouldn't be my forces. No one would rally behind Prometheus without my support."

Percy and Artemis shared a glance. "You planned for this?" Artemis asked.

Kronos huffed. "Before the final battle of Manhattan, I formulated a plan with Prometheus just in case we failed. We knew of mother's awakening, your valiant defense was only possible because we were running out of time." As he began pacing the depression, Percy noticed he was in a similar get up as Luke was before he died. Tactical pants, long sleeve shirt, and a cuirass. "So Prometheus was to wait until mother either defeated the Olympians, or was defeated herself, and we would swoop in and conquer them all."

"And you're so arrogant to believe that you could defeat Gaea and her giants so easily?" Percy questioned next.

"She wouldn't have been the first primordial I had killed," Kronos answered with a shrug.

"Well, I guess that plan is ruined, huh?" Percy quipped.

The titan lord growled. "So, it would seem," he seethed before his form vanished from view.

"Still not use to that," Percy complained as he ran a hand through his long, shaggy, and badly managed hair. There weren't exactly barber shops in Tartarus so Percy was forced to lob off his hair with Riptide when it got too long.

A small grin graced Artemis' face. "Let us hope you never do," she said before observing her surroundings. In the depression, they stood before a ring of crumbled black columns, with a ruined altar in the center. "What is this place?"

Percy followed her gaze and his eyes landed in the destroyed altar. "It was a shrine of Hermes. Annabeth thought it had to have been swallowed up by Tartarus at some point. We used it to contact Camp Halfblood before her escape." He walked towards the destroyed altar. "I tried to use it after escaping Tartarus' wrath. He sent three drakons after me. They destroyed the altar before I could stop them. That was actually how I met Phlegethion. She let me use her river to destroy them. Sometimes I come here to pray. Sometimes to dad, sometimes to Hestia, really just anyone. I know they won't hear me, but it makes me feel better."

Artemis really didn't know what to say to that. What could she say to such a vulnerable comment? "You were chased from here to the Phlegethon by three drakons?" Artemis asked with a raised eyebrow. "How did they not catch you over open ground?"

Percy shrugged. "Because three drakons are not very well coordinated," he answered before turning and walking up the side of the depression. "Come on, still a long way to the hut."

Artemis quickly followed the demigod, giving one last look to the ruined altar of her brother. Despite everything, giving his life for Olympus, being stuck in this abyss, he maintained his connection to them. What had they done to deserve such a loyal soldier? Percy assisted Artemis out of the depression. "Someone is preparing for war, but who could it be?" Artemis wondered as she took in the area around them. Slopping hills covered in rough, black sand. Depressions like the one they had climbed out of peppered the ground around them, creating a moon like surface of craters. No wonder the dragon women snuck up on them. Some of the craters were large and deep.

"I don't know," Percy answered. He began walking away from the depression. "Monsters normally only rally to the call of some form of divinity. The biggest out there would be Tartarus but...he hasn't been active in a long, long time."

"So it could be a new player?" Artemis asked. "Someone who has the power and the skill to command, but either survived or stayed out of the the past two wars?"

Percy nodded. "Don't know who that could be, but this gives us even more reason for you to get to the surface. You'll have to warn Olympus. I'll do what I can to disrupt their plans."

Artemis stopped in her tracks. Percy stopped as well. He turned to find Artemis giving him a hard look. "Are you so arrogant as to think you could stop them all on your own?"

"Of course not," Percy had the gall to smile. "With any luck, I can delay them. Maybe they will even kill me, put my soul to rest."

The goddess' eyes softened minutely. "If someone is planning to invade Olympus, we will need our greatest champion. Maybe we could find a way for you to escap-."

Percy grabbed her shoulder and threw her to the ground...again. A black form tackled the demigod, sending the man tumbling to the ground. The hellhound rested on top of him, it's growl vibrating the ground below them. Artemis quickly flicked her knife at the beast. The wicked blade lodged itself into its throat. The hellhound whined before bursting into golden dust. Percy sputtered as golden dust rained down upon him. A series of ruckus roars sounded as a group of Cyclopes, ranging from just taller than Percy to over twice his height, emerged from a crater, hefting all manner of weapons and a pack of hellhounds on their heels, charging right at them. Percy dashed past her, Riptide in hand, closing the distance at a frightening pace. Artemis climbed to her feet and quickly sped up to catch the demigod, foregoing the knife she threw. Neither did she draw the spear from her back. She could handle a few cyclopes and hellhounds with her bare hands.

Percy beat her to them, leaping into the air and slicing through the lead cyclops' raised arm. The cyclops screamed in pain as the demigod continued on without a second glance, carving his way through the squad of monsters. Artemis caught on and jumped into the air. She grasped the discarded club as it fell and swung will all her might. The weapon connected with the head of another cyclops, sending the creature flying back as it dissolved into dust. The goddess rolled across the ground and popped to her feet. The club was as tall as she was, but it didn't seem to matter to the battle-crazed huntress as she hefted it up with glee.

Percy slid underneath the legs of the next cyclops, slicing through its leg as he passed. Percy rose to his feet, leaving the writhing monster behind. He weaved through the cyclopes, hacking and slashing his way through the small horde. His bronze blade cleaved through armor and flesh like they were wet paper. He fought his way past the cyclopes and engaged the hellhounds. The beasts, from the size of horses to tanks, lunged at the demigod. Percy deftly evaded each attack by the nimble beasts, his strikes leaving them not but dust. Artemis leaped past him, having discarded her club for an equally sized axe and smashed a hellhound with it. Percy grinned before he was grabbed from behind. The first cyclops from earlier threw him against a rock and tried to choke Percy with his remaining arm. Percy struggled against the monster, his demigod strength no match for the cyclops. His lungs burned with a great need of air. His open palm connected with the head of the cyclops. Golden light shot up his arm and slammed into the cyclops head, knocking the monster back. Percy coughed as he rubbed at his throat. He looked at the groaning form of the kneeling cyclops and then to his left hand. The golden light rescinded up his arm before dissipating all together.

"Go to it," Kronos' voice sounded as he appeared beside the demigod. Percy looked at the specter suspiciously before approaching the cyclops who was still holding his head. Percy looked to Kronos again who nodded to the cyclops before disappearing. Golden light took over his arm as he thrusted it forward and grabbed the monster by the head, forcing the cyclops to look at him. "Whom do you serve?" Kronos shouted through Percy's voice. The golden light latched onto the cyclops, immobilizing him and forcing its way through his eye and mouth. Artemis gasped as what looked like Kronos had taken the place of Percy's left half. The two meshed together like oil and water. Percy grimaced as the form of Kronos tried to further influence his actions.

The cyclops groaned in pain; his one eye overcome with fear. "We-we were reporting to Pallas and Perses. They have put out the call for forces to gather."

Kronos seemed unsatisfied, a scowl etched across both Percy and Kronos" faces. The pair now moving in sync. "Pallas and Perses do not have the power to call such forces. Who commands them?" Percy pressed his hand into the monster's head, almost as if he and Kronos were of one mind.

The cyclops shouted in pain. "I don't know. I swear it," the cyclops answered. Percy let go of the cyclops, the light dissipating up his arm until Kronos was no longer part of his body. The cyclops fell to the ground and scrambled to his feet. Percy lobbed it's head off with a swift strike, the body crumbling into dust.

Artemis approached Percy carefully, her oversized ax hefted in hand. "Perseus?"

Percy stared at his hand in confusion and slight concern. "What in the name of Hades, was that?" he asked, ignoring Artemis completely.

Kronos appeared next to him. "That, my boy, was domination. You exerted my divine authority to dominate the cyclops."

Shock ran through Percy and Artemis. "What are you talking about?" Percy questioned.

"It would seem," Kronos began pacing as he spoke, stroking his beard. "That with our merging you have gained the ability to access my divinity." He noticed the two still looking at him confused. "You have become a vessel for my power. Much like Luke, except this time you hold the reigns. As much as that pains me to admit."

Percy didn't like the comparison with Luke but it made sense. "You're saying I can use your abilities?"

"I don't see why not," Kronos shrugged. "It will take time for your body to acclimate to my power, if ever. Mortals are always so terribly fragile."

Percy stared at his hand, ignoring Kronos' last comment. "So what I just did..."

"Was utilize my power to dominate the cyclops," the specter answered the unfinished question. "Yes."

"But I heard both of you," said Artemis, feeling the need to join the conversation. Percy and Kronos turned to her. "When you were questioning the monster, I heard both of your voices together. Not separate like now."

"Hmm," Kronos hummed in thought. "It would reason to think we work as one when you tap into my divinity. Like two halves merging as one."

"Yeah I don't really want to think about that," Percy responded before looking to the pile of golden dust the cyclops left. "I guess we got our answer though. Assuming you can trust a cyclops."

Kronos scowled at the demigod. "Trust has nothing to do with it," he growled. "His thoughts can not lie."

Artemis glanced between the demigod and titan lord, two sides of a coin that should never have been forged. "So Pallas and Perses are building an army? To conquer Olympus?"

"No," Kronos countered the goddess. "Those two are much to weak to call upon a legion of monsters, much less they would stand no chance against the Olympians." He ran a hand through his beard. "They must be gathering them for another. Someone who wants to remain hidden."

"Why hide though?" Percy asked as he turned to Kronos. "It's not like we are on the surface where the Olympians could hunt them down. We are in Tartarus. The only being worth hiding from would be..."

"Tartarus himself," Kronos answered for him.

Percy nodded along. "So we have a new player, who is powerful enough to call monsters and titans to their ranks, but is hiding from Tartarus." Artemis did not like where this was going. Percy was powerful, and who knew what his connection with Kronos truly entailed, but this seemed too much. "Guess I will have to pay Pallas and Perses a visit. Try to get some answers." The casualness that Percy used to describe fighting two titans startled her.

"Perseus," Artemis called to the demigod. Percy turned to the goddess in question. "I am not leaving." She needed to keep an eye on him. To witness Percy and Kronos discuss in a civil manner was...a concern. Could she really leave this man to this fate?

"What are you on about?" Percy asked in confusion.

"You might be one of the most powerful demigods to ever exist, but even you can not take two titans," Artemis explained. "I will help you and when we find out who is behind this, then I will leave to report to Olympus."

Percy gave her a skeptical look, but relented. "Okay, but we will need to stop by Damasen's hut anyways. Pretty sure you don't want to go hunting titans with an axe as big as you are."

Artemis nodded, still unnerved by the cooperation between the former enemies. Kronos was known as the Crooked One for a reason. She would have to keep a watch on them. It was not a thought she relished, but if need be… she would deal with them.