Gold Heart, a percy jackson and the olympians fanfic

Percy knew, that despite all the godly related bullshit that followed Percy throughout his life, from snakes in his cradle to cyclops stalking his daycare. He had, at one point, been a child.

He had laughed, played, cried, scraped his knees and made friends, however brief they were from constantly moving schools and being scared away by his ADHD and all the weird stuff that happened around him.

Months at a time were spent in boarding schools away from his mother, who worked herself to the bone for him and for that awful lump of a man. The candy and the side hustle that came with it were nice, but Percy would have chosen being with his mom in a heartbeat. When he did come home for summer it was just as lonely as school. His mom was tired from work and being a live-in maid for Gabe meant she couldn't spend time with him like they both wanted.

Percy would sit in his room for hours on end, pacing, doodling, fidgeting, and trying to be quiet and not bother smelly Gabe-or else.

And sometimes, when the quiet, the loneliness became too much, listening to his heart beat.

He's not sure that's when it started, but the farthest back he could remember it with certainty.

When counting the time between each beat, watching as hours slipped by him, Percy felt flashes of gold.

Gold, he now realized, like the flashes of a sickle, the color of grain, the sands of time. He was too young to know what that meant, but he could feel a presence, and had nightmares about being trapped somewhere.

At first he thought it was just a childhood thing, like an imaginary friend or a series of night terrors kids sometimes got. The whispers he could never quite make out, desperate and angry and even the slightest bit lonely.

Biding its time.

As he grew older and stronger he stopped hearing the whispers.

This seemed to please his mom, who promised him trips to his favorite place in the world. Every summer he and his mom would go to Montauk. Smelly Gabe would hand over his car after a dedicated campaign by his mom, and they would drive hours to the end of Long Island.

"Hey Sally! Long time no see! And you've brought the little guy too! How old is he?" A cheery-faced chef says as they pull into town. They would eat first and then go to their cabin.

"Helen! He's turning 10 next month."

"Do you still have those blue tortilla chips?" Percy blurted.

"Sure do bud! I gotta have them for my Birthday boy. Not everyday you turn 10." She ruffled his head.

"We also got these amazing strawberries from up the way, some sort of camp business, makes a mean shortcake if you want to give them a try?"

Mom laughs and Percy notes a strange quality to it. She keeps looking in her rearview mirror.

"We might, but Percy probably prefers blueberry pie."

"Yeah!"

The trip went well. Percy sees ladies in the water when surfing with his mom, something he played off as his imagination later on before realizing even later than that those ladies were Nereids.

Percy plays in the sand.

He watches as the sand dimples and clots, the warmth of it sun baked and salt water cooled against his skin. Filling a bucket with salt water, he treks up the sand dunes, huffing and puffing the whole time with water sloshing over, landing on his skin and strangely giving him energy to hop around long grasses until he makes it to a large puddle on the other side from their cabin.

It's freshwater left over from last night's rain, which itself came from the remnants of a tropical depression. Or so the TV said.

Percy hesitates a second as he looks at the filthy water, murky and brown, and then dumps his heavy bucket of salt water into it. As he watches the dirt begins to clear and clump together right before his eyes, the water becoming crystal clear.

"Mom! Look! Mama!"

She comes running, skirt rippling like a wave, eyes wide and her fear startles Percy.

"What wrong baby!?"

"Nothing! I-I just wanted to show you something."

She calms and lowers her butcher's knife that he hadn't noticed before, putting it in the sand dune and striding over, her shoulder lowering and a smile coming across her face.

"Look, I put ocean water in the dirty puddle and now it's clear."

Her smile becomes nostalgic as she squats next to him, eyes distant as she seems to look back in time.

"Your father told me about this." She offers up softly.

He immediately looks at her, little mouth dropping open in awe.

"He did? About what?" He asks breathlessly.

She smiles at him. It's sad, and suddenly he feels sad too.

"He told me salt water is special. It has many purifying properties-"

"-What's that mean?"

"It means it's very good at cleaning. It removes bad dirty things."

"Wow!"

"It can be good for you too. See, it heals my hands."

Sally takes her hands which often get something Percy can't pronounce. X ma? Ex mas? Eczema? And she puts them in the saltwater left in the bucket, promptly sighing in relief.

Suddenly his face feels hot, his heart beats fast, his eyes blink rapidly.

"Mama?" He whispers.

"Yes?"

"If dad was lost at sea, and if, um, salt water heals…can the ocean heal him, and then maybe he can…come back?" He squeaks.

Her eyes water and Percy feels ashamed of himself.

"Sor- I'm sorry mama." He stumbles over his words.

"Oh baby…" Her voice is so tender, so careful as she tries to let him down gently.

"It's okay mama, I was being dumb."

"No, no you weren't honey."

They rally themselves, and eventually start to have a good time again building sandcastles-or sand palaces, as Mama said his Dad called them. Other kids from town and on vacation join them and they eventually play a game of tag in the waves tumbling to shore. When the sun begins to set and turns the ocean into fire his mom has him sit on the porch as she prepares dinner. Normally he would help but she said she wanted to surprise him. On the steps of the porch he reaches down and picks up handfuls of sand, holds it, then gently lets it slip through his finger, watching as it drifts to the dune at his feet.

He does this again and again.

As he stares at the falling sands, he realizes the tears that had tracked down his face tasted salty.

As he grows, more happens. He goes back to school, gets kicked out, goes to another one. There he meets a teacher he actually likes, Mr. Brunner.

He's embarrassed to admit he wants Mr. Brunner's approval but he does. There's never been a guy in his life patient with Percy, but the bearded man makes his lessons fun, and understandable, and really seems to believe in him, and Percy doesn't want to let him down.

So in between the Roman swords being used as pointers and Greek flutes being used to rhyme spelling words, Percy does something he's never done before in his life.

He goes to the Library and checks out a book.

It's about Greco-Roman mythology because that's what Mr. Brunner taught. Latin too.

He flips open to a random page and jolts when he finally comprehends the title. It's about Kronos and something about that name sends chills up his spine. Gold, gold and grains, flashes of golden curved metal, little granules through an hourglass.

He snaps back, heart beating and he counts them to calm himself.

Mr. Brunner had not liked to talk about Kronos. He would talk about all the other gods and even some titans and giants who Percy could be bothered to remember, but he became funny when Kronos was mentioned.

He begins to read.

"According to Hesiod's "Theogony," Ouranos was a hate-driven god who did not allow his children to prosper. He ended up imprisoning all of his children, preventing them from leaving Gaia's womb. The Titans, CYCLOPES, and HECATONCHIRES (Hekatonkheires, Hecatoncheires) were unable to escape and prosper.

The Fall Of Ouranos:

Fed up and overcome by grief, Gaia pleaded with her children to take action. Her youngest, Cronus, was the only one who wasn't scared to do something about Ouranos. Gaia created an adamantine sickle and hid Cronus until the time was right. The ruthless Cronus then escaped Gaia's womb and castrated Uranus!"

Huh. What was Mr. Brunner so skittish about? It sounded like Kronos was brave to protect his family when this orange guy or whatever his name was was hurting his wife.

The idea of that sends a hot flash of anger through Percy before he calms himself and reads on.

"Cronus was the leader of the Titans during the Golden Age of humans. Immorality was nonexistent, and there was no need for laws. It truly was a time of virtue and prosperity. Thanks to the happiness of Gaia and the Titans, the world flourished. Many believe that Cronus' connection to agriculture and harvest is due to his leadership during this time.

While the Titans' rule was peaceful, the time of relative harmony did not last forever. Eventually, and for reasons unknown, Cronus became violent and somewhat paranoid."

The story becomes worse, and worse, and before Percy knows it he slams the book shut, heart beating too fast, horrible tears in his eyes. How could Kronos fall so hard? After he fought so hard to have peace? What made him do that?

Despite his reaction, he forgets, and moves on. His friendship with Grover becomes stronger, his grades are rocky but stable, Nancy Bobofit is a jerk, and his candy selling is earning him some side cash. All in all, not a bad life.

…

That changes.

The Master Bolt is stolen, and more importantly his mother is taken from him. Luke betrays him but his mother is back.

Thalia's tree is poisoned and they need to get the Golden Fleece.

Thalia is back, they meet Nico and Bianca, Annabeth is kidnapped and suddenly Percy is holding up the sky.

"Lady Artemis! Go! I'll take it!"

She gives it to him-

Pain.

Pressure.

He can't describe it, the poets in Apollo's cabin couldn't even describe it, the fast talkers in the Hermes cabin couldn't even describe it, the detail obsessed kids in the Aphrodite cabin couldn't even describe it. He feels like a submarine at the bottom of the Mariana trench, crushed like a soda can from the weight of the entire ocean.

He doesn't know how his bones haven't been ground to sand yet, his heart rushes in his ears, he can feel the sky straining, screeching-

Θαεπιστρέψειςγαίαθαεπισγαίαρέψειςθαεέψειςgaia -

It was trying to say something.

The Sky was trying to say something.

It wanted.

Percy would have screamed in terror but he couldn't even breathe.

Weeks later, Thalia comes to say goodbye to him as he gets ready for school in the new year.

"-ave to visit your mom in New-"

He doesn't mean to ignore her, but he can't seem to stop staring up at the sky. He never feels comfortable anymore under an open sky.

"You okay?" Thalia asks.

Percy snaps out of it.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry, just thinking."

She appraised him.

"My father wouldn't strike you down without a trial with the other Olympians first."

He startles, wondering why she would bring that up before realizing that it's the only logical explanation for his behavior. How else could you explain this?

"Thank you."

"No problem Percy. We'll have to get hamburgers sometime."

Percy's glad they're friends, despite their rocky start. They both walk down to the others, and Percy can't help but cast another look over his shoulders at the deceptively peaceful blue sky.

He swears he hears something in his ears.

The rasp of a screaming ancient.

The hissing of sliding sand.

Or maybe just the wind.

Yeah.

Probably just the wind.

…

They are all screaming, shaking as they run out of the Maze. Rachel leads the way as Percy continues to stare in shock at what Ethan had just done. He had felt the moment in his very soul as the vow was taken, how Kronos had looked at him through Luke's eyes and how disgustingly familiar it felt, that moment of connection.

Why was it familiar?

Nico throws up an Obsidian wall as Rachel nails Kronos with her hairbrush and helps a distressed Annabeth along and Percy shivers, the hissing of sand in his ears.

…

The war continues and so do his dreams of Kronos. He can feel the titan reach out to him from across space and time and Percy wakes up gasping for breath, the faint imprint of hands on his neck.

…

Three Demigods drag themselves into a hamburger joint and order burgers.

"I'll have a double cheese burger."

"Me too."

Percy looks back at Nico.

"Me three, and a side order of fries please."

"And three milkshakes too!"

It's a meal fitting for them after all their hard work. No reward on Olympus compared to a juicy oil coated hamburger.

They chow down and talk about the past few weeks after the Battle for Olympus.

"-No Idea how hard it was to get my father to listen with Demeter talking about cereal and Persephone-"

Percy nods, mind wandering as Thalia laughs loudly and tells a funny story about Hera and cow pies.

The war is over. The dead have been honored, the new cabins are going up so why does he still have dreams about Kronos?

It's quiet.

Thalia and Nico are looking at him.

"...You're still having dreams about Kronos?" Thalia asks slowly.

"He's gone, you made sure." Nico sounds nervous.

"No, totally!" Percy says, rushing to assure them and maybe himself. "The gods said so themselves. He's scattered, and won't reform."

Their brows are creased with worry and Percy hates that he's the cause.

"No one else is still having dreams about the war." Nico says.

"Not prophetic ones at any rate." Thalia says. "Some of us are still having nightmares, but that's normal."

"I agree." Nico says. "You might want to talk to someone back at camp about these dreams if they continue or get worse, but I think there's another explanation for it. Despite all odds including us other big three children you were the one of prophecy. You've had more encounters with Kronos than any other big three kid, and it seems you've always been uniquely connected to this fate. What you're seeing now might be what's lingering."

"I think Nico's right. Your dreams will sort themselves out, right now let's just be glad it's over."

"I'll drink to that!" Percy says quickly, and drinks his blue shake and chokes.

Nico pats his back as Thalia laughs.

He tries not to think of Kronos during the meal. How Kronos had slowed down and stopped time, what it felt like to be frozen in place, unable to move as his enemy walked closer, as the very birds froze mid flight. His power was so immense he would have effortlessly burned away the Styx's curse of Achilles, his very presence enough to vaporize demi-gods with their eyes closed, strong enough to even destroy minor gods.

After the two of them leave Percy goes quiet. He had thought that maybe Thalia and Nico also being potential children of the great prophecy, maybe they would be having dreams too.

The latest dream was last night. He dreamt he was millions of specks of golden dust, being crushed but also lost, perhaps sands or grains, swirling around and trying to catch hold of something only for nothing to happen, to try and call out to not have a voice, to try and shake the horrible curse from his father, insanity, the confusion and horror of realizing his future what he had done and the things he would do and the knowledge there was nothing to stop it scattering his mind worse than his body-

These dreams don't feel like normal dreams, they feel…

They feel real.

Divine.

Intentional.

Prophetic.

…

A few days later Percy has another dream.

He's cramped, stuck, ready to be free but constricted. His siblings scream in fear around him as acid laps at their feet, as their surroundings become tighter and tighter. Cruel laughter edged with insanity echoes.

He wakes up.

He's exhausted so he tries to sleep again.

This dream is similar. He's trapped, desperate to grow to his full potential. His entire being, body, mind, soul, divinity, aches with the need to get out of this trap, the horrible pressure that is somehow the same as the weight of holding up the sky. He hears faint begging as he and his siblings struggle to be free.

"-Please! Let go of me, get off! Let them be freed, Ourano-"

His dream shifts.

There must be a bad signal or something because the images and noises are faint and hard to make out.

"Out of all my children, you are the only one brave enough to accept this sickle…"

Percy sees a sickle appear, and reaches for it, filled with anger, with hope, the need to finally be freed of this mad monster he calls father, in order to be a father himself.

His grip tightens on the weapon as he leads his siblings forward.

He is suddenly filled with foreign longing, the desperate hope for a family, he wants to hold his would-be children in his mind. The dream of being free, looking up into a blue sky without fear.

It fades away again.

He screams in his dream, clutching his head as a defeated voice howls with hatred, his mother battered and broken and unable to help, and perhaps unwilling to.

"-esestable son, you think you can get away with this? A new form of evil will be created just for you! Curses! I curse you! I curse you with the burden of prophecy. I curse you to become the inverse of who you are! You who did the unthinkable for your family will grow to hurt them! It will all be in vain! I curse you with the same fate as me, and you, being able to see it but not stop it, let your idealist mind and desperate hopes crack from the pressu-"

He screams and falls, mind scrambling but unable to find stability.

"-nos, what is wrong? Are you alright brother? Let me help you up."

He shakes his head, unable to remember why he was screaming but a horrible feeling in his heart. He takes his brother's hand.

"Yes Iapetus, I don't even remember what I feared, let…let us go on."

Time goes on.

He watches the little humans below them. He's fascinated with them. He is especially fascinated with the young humans. All immortals are born autonomous, but these little humans must be raised, and taught.

It is a process that takes time.

He wishes for this.

They are hungry, the world grows cold in cycles he feels in the fabric of himself, cycles and patterns he balanced with the Moon and Sun, and the little ones starve, and it hurts him. He teaches them of timing, and using his abilities to create golden Wheat, and amber Grains, and invents Agriculture based on the cycles of his Mother, and fashions them a tool, based on his own weapon to harvest their work. It's a struggle to hold back his raw divinity, but It's rewarding, to see how good can come from his symbol of violence. He holds the Divine flames in his cupped hands, and lets them bake their bread in his palms, and ponders on the idea of Prometheus on giving fire to them.

The scent of baking pleases him, and the humans end up baking more for him to inhale. He thinks of his daughter and wafts the smell up to his pregnant wife in the heavens, and wonders if his child would enjoy it as well, if she too would sit at this holy fire, this hearth, and care for the flames, to hopefully create a home.

He watches the humans eat and feels blessed.

Then.

A vision.

A child.

His.

She's beautiful and everything he's ever wanted. She has her mother features but his warm coloration. She's the dawn of a new era, she's every hope he's ever had for a future, a family that loves him instead of fearing or using him, but, what if she does too? What if, what ifwhati-his head is tossed back like the humans eating the hearth-bread, and and andan-

He doesn't realize he's in his true form until the mortal is a pillar of sand, and that sand, ash.

Krios shakes his bowed head, poorly hiding a smirk. He and the other titans had thought he was neglecting his kingly duties down here.

"You are the strongest among us, and they are but dust in the wind. It was only a matter of time."

The guilt festers inside him.

He becomes increasingly paranoid, he feels as if he will be ambushed under the open sky, he is certain the humans are rallying against him, he's certain they will cast him out too, his pregnant wife must be sick of him, must also want him gone. When he tries to think deeper, something rotten, rooted to his core does not let him. He wants to hold his loved ones, he wants to-

-He screams in horror in the small corner of his mind still clinging to reason as he holds his little daughter. A compulsion beyond his will has him tilting his head back, opening his mouth-

The last threads of his mind snap under the horror.

Percy wakes up.

He's covered in cold sweat and he runs to the bathroom and vomits.

After he decides to take a walk.

It's early in the morning, just late enough to not be eaten by the harpies, but then again, Percy would fillet them if they tried. The sun had barely risen and all the Demigods were still asleep for the most part, still exhausted from the Battle, and from all the recent additions to camp and building everything for them.

"You would think the Hero of Olympus would be enjoying his beauty sleep." A curious voice drawled from the porch of the big house.

"Mr. D."

"Peter. It's unlike you to be up so early."

"Didn't think you cared enough to notice."

"Good to know the lack of sleep hasn't affected your attitude. Nico told me about dreams of yours, why don't you sit here for a bit. Not too long though." The wine god said with a faint smile on his face. The war finally being over clearly made Mr. D feel better.

"So you can remember his name?" Percy complained but sat in a chair.

The silence drew on. It became awkward as Mr. D raised an eyebrow at him and slowly lowered his card.

"...The war affected us all, Percy Jackson. "Mr. D. says pointedly. "You in particular. You always had ah, shall we say an unique connection to the elder Titan-"

Flashes of gold, grains, sand in an hourglass-

"- And many campers were affected by the war. I would know as the God of Insanity as well. These dreams are likely remnants of the divine energy of the prophecy being completed."

Mr. D shuffles his cards. With his godly, pudgy, hands. Once the hands of a mortal.

"What do gods dream of?" Percy wonders.

Percy feels the heaviness of Mr. D.'s gaze and he turns to look. It feels like the first time he met the god, twelve and grieving, and feeling the weight of purple insanity. Percy realizes that he could have shared Mr. D's fate, a demi-god that ascended.

"Do gods dream the same dreams as mortals?" Percy asks quietly.

"...No." Mr. D. says, the single syllable carrying several emotions, chief among them longing, grief, and nostalgia. "We have no need for sleep, and dreams are often the workings of fate-the domain of mortals, if they ever had one." Percy can't believe Mr. D. sounds wistful! "I...find myself missing it, almost."

Percy is frozen solid.

He thinks of his own dreams.

Were they his own?

"Do you think Kronos was insane?" Percy blurts out.

Silence.

The air seems to cool. The windchimes slowly clank together, a piece of paper skitters past in the wind, his heart beats loudly.

"...An interesting question. I am fortunate to never have met him personally, but wherever bits of his presence lingered, I detected irrationality, and yes, even some insanity. A functional lunatic, if you will. None of that matters now of course. He's scattered so severely after dying a second time not even the elder gods with all their power could scrape him back together. His divinity is just too faint. I would suggest you quit worrying and be glad it's all over. It's unhealthy for a mind to ruminate." Mr. D lets that last sentence sink in.

Percy decides a walk on the beach might be better for him.

He digs his toes in the dunes, inhales the scent of saltwater, chases tides with his pace.

"Never too early for a morning beach walk." His dad says.

Percy smiles and walks up to Poseidon.

"Hey dad." His voice is more tired than he realizes. It makes Poseidon's brow crease in worry, laugh lines vanishing as he turns to his son. Poseidon reaches forward and rests a large hand on Percy's brow.

His father is also looking tired. Rebuilding Atlantis is hard work.

Percy isn't surprised by the tenderness. Ever since his 16th birthday happened and the prophecy was complete his father had been more affectionate. He was curious.

"You've uh, been around more lately."

His dad's eyes shimmered like the ocean during sunset.

"I have. I…wish I could have been there more, in the beginning. I didn't want to draw attention to you. You deserved more but I admit to letting my fear and guilt get the better of me. I didn't want to love you only for you to be struck down due to the prophecy." Poseidon sighed, regret in his voice.

Percy swallowed heavily, his own eyes shimmering in the reflection of the water.

"I remember you visited me when I was a baby." He blurts.

"It is one of my most cherished memories." Poseidon says softly. He wraps his arms around Percy and brings them to sit in the sand, half in the waves. Percy rests his head on his father's shoulder and chest and instead of a heartbeat he hears the rolling of tides, faint whale song, the peaceful movement of water that nearly lulls him to sleep

"Now that the blasted prophecy is off your shoulder I would have hoped things would be peaceful for you."

Percy hums.

"You've been having dreams. Prophetic ones."

Percy nods.

"I fear that's my fault."

He cranks his neck up to look at his dad, eyes wide in what Annabeth called the baby seal effect, and Poseidon laughs bittersweetly, thumb brushing against Percy's cheekbone.

"What do you know of the domain of prophecy?"

"Uh, it's held by Apollo, but sometimes Demi-gods can have prophecy dreams?"

Poseidon eyes crinkle into a smile.

"Correct. However there's more to the story than just that. Don't repeat this history to anyone. I tell you now because you are my son and it's affecting you."

He nods.

"Prophecy is a domain that has had 4 total users. Apollo is just the most recent. Some domains are able to transfer to the next deity easily because even if they are powerful or important, they are rather simple, such as the sun from Helios to Apollo. Other domains are much more complicated, and the previous holder can still retain some of that domain. That previous holder is me."

"What! So that's why…"

"Yes. You are by far my most powerful child. You've inherited many of my domains, including a connection to prophecy. Albeit weaker than a child of Apollo's would be. The point being, even the gods are not immune to the effects of prophecy. I could tell when spending time with your mother that the great prophecy was whispering to me, and trying to influence my actions, weak of a reason for it, I know."

The demigod frowns and Poseidon hums deeply.

"That being said, I can't bring myself to regret your existence."

This makes him smile, before remembering something his dad just said.

"Wait, if you were the third holder, who was before you?"

"The first holder was Ouranos. The second..." Poseidon hesitates "...was my father, Kronos."

Percy gasps.

"I inherited it from my father after we slew him. I was perfect for the circumstances however, I could tell that while I was the best option out of the then gods, I wasn't ideal. After dealing with Ouranos and then Kronos, the domain of prophecy was extremely corrupted. Its influence was poisonous and had I not been an Elder God I would have succumbed to it. It took thousands of years of hard work to wash out the corruption with my other domains. I used the power of the sea to clean it in a way no other God could. Which is how saltwater acquired its purifying properties, by the way." Poseidon said, eyes twinkling.

"Wow! Wow."

"Wow indeed. Had I not purified it, it would have corrupted young Apollo, and very likely his sister and mother as well. Even then, the work I had to do while keeping it 'under the radar' helped establish my moody personality."

"That's terrifying." Percy croaks, the events of his dreams playing across his mind.

"Yes." Poseidon said, quickly sobering. "Prophecy is why you were chosen, perhaps why Kronos was drawn to you, and why you carried it out, and why you are having these dreams now. I can't stop them, only let you know why they're happening."

"Oh. Well, at least Kronos is gone?" He can't keep the uncertainty from his voice.

"Hmm. Truthfully a minor god and even a few of the weaker Olympians would be by now. However Kronos was the most powerful of all the titans. His immense strength took all 6 of us. He doesn't just have the domain of time, he is time. You got just a taste of his power when he was hosted by Luke Castellen, and look what he was able to do in that short time."

Percy shivers.

"That being said, my father is scattered and beyond all reach except for the dreams you are having. I wouldn't worry. The dreams can't hurt you. I won't let them even if they could. This is likely his last gasp before his mind disperses forever and he becomes a part of the universe's background, whatever lingering awareness he has at that point will be sealed for eternity forced to watch time pass but unable to partake in it."

"That's reassuring." Percy deadpans, trying not to let the terror of a fate like that effect him.

"Indeed. So for now, rest my son. You've earned it."

Poseidon kisses his brow and Percy melts under the affection as he drops off to sleep, his father laying him to rest in his cabin.

…

Percy Jackson is feeling hopeful.

It might have something with the blue cookies he is baking with Hestia in the camps kitchens. Mr. D. had rolled his eyes affectionately but allowed it. He had always been fond of her. Percy was hired over the summer as a swordsman trainer to the many new campers. He shakes away the strange feeling of standing in the shoes of Luke and Daedalus. Percy wants to bake for the kids to reward their efforts, to make this camp a home.

It also could be the Pithos containing hope sitting innocuously by Hestia.

Who is sitting and kneading. Percy had offered to let her stand at the helm of the kitchen but she only shook her head, remaining seated. Percy wonders if he's ever seen her standing instead of sitting, or stooped over a hearth.

He had invited her to go on a hike at Montauk with him and Hermes, who was taking his cabin out for a trip, but again, she had shook her head, gesturing to the hearth, a glint her her eyes from the fire that could almost be sadness.

The goddess still has Hope and will have it for the foreseeable future. It whispers to Percy, saying many things, but mostly filling him with the hope that he could ask some questions, and maybe get some answers.

"Aunt Hestia?"

"Yes Percy?"

He hesitates to bring it up to his Aunt, but...

"Why do you think Kronos became the way he did?"

She goes still in fear at the mention of her Fathers name. Hope cracks against the pithos and Percy's teeth snap shut at his own gall and remorse, and the sudden flash of eye-searing gold.

"...I cannot say." She says after several moments. "And despite my forgiveness towards family, I regret that I cannot say it matters to me his reasons, made even truer by his most recent actions. A father is supposed to protect his family, a king to lead. He betrayed that. And me."

Percy swears he hears her whisper something on 'how could he' but it's swallowed by the sounds of crackling flames.

Percy deeply regrets bringing it up, and switches the topic to the blue cookies again.

Hestia smiles warmly when the children eat, and Percy turns his heads towards the Ocean and closes his eyes like he could forget the gold, how Hestia's copper tones remined him so much of, of-

...

Several months later, Percy sits in a hut in Tartarus. Damasen is keeping watch after giving them soup and Iapetus, having learned the truth of his origins, is regaining his memories. Both Giant and Titan watch the two demi-gods closely, aware of what they had just went through, and multiple times at that.

Percy watches the Titan closely, and thoughtfully. In between trying to survive Percy was struck with the realization this was the place Kronos was condemned to and spent a countless amount of time in.

He looks at the sleeping Annabeth.

Alive now, as he is. Whole.

Percy was only here for…what was probably a few days and his mind was hanging on by a string.

"What ails you Percy? Besides the obvious." Iapetus asks. The titan assured them he was on their side after being cast out by his family. He thinks of a supposed ancient curse on a titan, what would happen to said curse if you were scattered. Would it be destroyed as well? These thoughts swirl around his head after their encounters with curses cast against him.

"I-well, you know I fought against Kronos in the war?"

"I do."

"...what made him like that?"

Iapetus' face becomes distant.

"He was not always like that. At first we were awed and a bit intimidated he would go after father, but we understood why he would want to topple the tyrant, and we were grateful. Then…" he trailed off, lost in thought.

"Then what?" Percy asked after several moments.

"He wasn't the same after killing father. It wasn't noticeable at first, as he was a good king. He started having spells of time where he blanked out. Near the end he starting screaming, and when he came to he was always crueler and more distant."

"Do you know why?"

"No. None of us did. In fact some of our crueler siblings encouraged it."

He went silent again at the thought of his family.

"...Why would you turn your back on Ga-your mother?" he asks.

Iapetus is quiet for so long Percy thought he had forgotten to answer.

"You ask biting questions. She was also not always like this." He said abruptly and startled Percy.

"Once she was caring, and wanted the best for us. But now she has lost herself and there is no way to fix it. Once she was hurt and now she seeks absolute power, to destroy all that could threaten her after what my father did to her, to remake the world in her image."

Iapetus exhales deeply, face troubled.

"Gaia lies. None of us will be a part of this new world. It's likely our very essence will be crushed and repurposed into something completely alien, if allowed at all. It's difficult to vanquish a mortal's immortal soul but I imagine if anyone could, it would be Gaia. I know your inclination might be to pray, but don't do that. She would hear it."

…

The war ends. Percy picks up the pieces.

He goes back to school for his senior year and makes the swim team. He even lets the others win occasionally. His parents cheer him on from the stand. A few times he spots brief glimpses of a large man with a Hawaiian shirt in the stands, cheering him on, and Percy manages to crack a smile.

A few times he even slows down and takes lower places just to watch his dad get steamed up. It all good though as Poseidon ends up looking more endeared than anything after he gets over Percy's impertinence.

Annabeth and a few other demigods in New York get together to study sometimes and in general talk about the whole demigods between two worlds thing.

His mother gives birth. Him and Paul were kicked out for this one. Both of them were sitting nervously on a bench, stomachs rumbling when his father appeared with fresh take-out.

"It wouldn't do well for you gentlemen to go hungry now."

"Oh, thank you!" Paul says and begins to divide up the food for Percy and himself.

"Dad." Percy says, relieved. His father cups the back of Percy's neck with a hand large enough to be to be a catcher's mitt and almost as calloused from holding his trident and pulls Percy to his chest. Percy isn't a short guy himself currently being in the midst of a growth spurt that might take him over 6 feet. Somehow his father always makes him feel like a kid.

To his embarrassment, he sniffles.

"She will be alright son. You and your new sibling can grow up together."

"I'm 17, I'm already grown."

Both Poseidon and Paul laugh and share amused, endeared looks much to Percy's chagrin.

"You are still very young. It's clear by your aura you have time yet to enjoy your youth, and your family."

He's not sure what an 'aura' is but it reminds him of Iris. But then he remembers joking around on the ship, playing games at camp half-blood, all the ways he had been growing and changing in the past few weeks. How he was Luke's age when Luke joined Kronos and how he thought Luke had been so old, when he was really so young. How those college students in New Rome had been so young and growing too. His dad is right. Percy does have some growing to do.

Estelle is delivered two hours later.

They all meet the baby and complement his mom, and as Paul looks into the eyes of his daughter Poseidon pulls his son close to his side in an unmistakable gesture of love and possessiveness.

…

Life goes on. Percy's first year at college had been an amazing, exciting experience. With teachers who understood ADHD, learning had been fun for the first time in his life. His Mom and Paul had been tearful as they dropped him off, and Poseidon had sent a vial of enchanted seawater for endurance and said to save it for finals.

There was a funny moment when the history Professor had gone over the Great Prophecy and Percy had choked on his blueberry muffin during class. He hadn't expected himself to be on the agenda. But it's interesting to hear the Roman perspective. He hadn't known Jason had choked out a titan with his bare hands, aided by Reyna. He's kinda glad their brief cornfield fight was interrupted now, not that he'll ever admit it.

"Oh, I can't imagine fighting titans, let alone Kron-The Lord of Time, the Crooked One." A girl spits, face paling and unable to even say the Titan lords name. Percy puts down his muffin as he has lost his appetite.

It reminds him of how the Romans still fear saying Neptune's name, like how the Greeks avoided mentioning Hades, except worse.

He makes s'mores, sings, fails at archery, gets into fights, cries, tries to process the trauma of the last several years and from even before that, gets therapy, makes new friends with the campers, and enjoys being young and carefree. Piper and him go to burger king and wear those carboard crowns, Jason and him tango dance to distract some monsters, he helps Reyna wash her dogs and it's oddly like washing Paul's car. He fucks up sometimes, his emotions get the better of him, or there is a situation he doesn't understand and it takes awhile to work through. But he does eventually.

It's going good.

Too good.

That night, Percy has the worst dream of his life.

All of his loved ones, even his dad lie dead or severely injured around him with fatal blows. Percy is quaking from holding up the weight of the sky, the feeling unforgettable despite his best efforts. Atlas is nowhere to be seen.

Many wondered why those who held up the Sky didn't just give it up.

Let it fall.

They assumed you were pinned in place by the weight.

Percy hadn't forgotten the feeling, but he had forgotten the reason why he kept holding it up.

The unrelenting, unfathomable horror that would be the consequences otherwise, the reasons that vanished when someone else took the burden. It was so terrible of a realization that once someone let go of the burden, their minds wiped themselves clean of the horrible truth, to preserve their Sanity. This was so powerful that not even a Goddess like Artemis or a Titan like Atlas remembered.

Because when you gaze into the abyss...

It gazes back.

Percy remembers now.

He sees it.

His finger bones crunch and crumble, his wrist bones collapse like jenga, blood gushes from his feet around him as the worst rasping laughter he ever heard echoes around him in an apocalyptic landscape. The sun and moon are both frozen at opposite sides of the horizon. The moon is a horrible rotten blood red, the sun is a faded gray like old bones.

The sky twists and writhes the voice of ancients echoing in his ears and as Percy watches a face forms. It's bigger than anything else he had ever seen.

Zeus is struck down trying to hold up his own domain and the face comes closer and closer to his exact spot, falling like the world's slowest planet killer. The very sky bends and follows the face downwards.

" All undone, I will end this cursed world, I will end my enemies."

The ground cracks beneath Percy's feel and it looks like a mouth, sucking in his blood and the bodies of his loved ones hungrily.

"No!" He croaks. "No, NO!"

It smells of sulfur, of pain to the point of insanity and Percy knows what, or who it is.

"Choose!" The sky and the pit howl together.

And, torn between the two worlds, the remains of Percy's arms give way.

The Sky falls.

Gold.

…

Percy wakes up screaming, tears down his face, and his dad in front of him desperately trying to soothe his son.

"Peace! Please Percy, nothing can breach the sanctity of my cabin, I won't allow you to come to harm!" Poseidon was so big he crowded out everything else, taking up Percy's field of vision.
"Focus on me, that's right, there's a good boy-"

Percy cries harder than he can ever remember as his father pulls him into his lap and presses his face into his shoulder. He can feel the horror breaking his mind as he clings to his father.

A large calloused palm presses against his forehead and his mind settles down with the scent of purifying, healing saltwater. His sobs come fast and heavy as he is held, his fathers beard scratchy and incredibly comforting.

When he no longer sobs his father gatherers the strength to ask.

"What did you dream of?" Poseidon almost seems wary of an answer but his voice is soft and steady.

It takes several moments for Percy to calm down and drink in his dad's appearance and he had done with his son, something about how his dad had looked in those first few seconds had thrown Percy off. His fathers appearance was surprising but very welcomed.

"Sky, the sky. I-I was holding it up again and, and the pit was right below me, so I had to choose which one." Percy croaks.

Poseidon's face goes grim at the reminder of the hardships his son went through, his eyes flashing with a color that almost startled Percy. He brings his son closer and Percy shuts his eyes.

In that moment before waking, but after the dream, there had been…something strange. It had pulled him into waking.

"That blasted pit, that damned Atlas." Poseidon rasps. "You never should have had to go through that. Through the struggle of being split I felt you fall and for that moment both of my aspects were united in grief."

His voice is deep with grief, deep as the deep ocean trenches.

"I'm here now, dad."

"And I will do everything to keep you here. Your dreams are troubling and I hope they herald no future harm. But I will keep watch for you. Tonight you will have a restful sleep, and I'll look into these dreams of yours."

Percy falls asleep, feeling safe.

But just before drifting off to the sound of the tides and deep sea calls in place of his fathers heartbeat, Percy recalls what he had forgotten in the terror.

The color that had initially woken him from his nightmare, that had briefly flashed in his fathers eyes.

Gold.

…

Poseidon never got the chance too.

The next day Atlas crumbled, and was swallowed by Tartarus.

The sky began its slow and inevitable descent.

"What the Hades is that thing?!" A camper cried. A healer from the Apollo cabin holding the guts of a fellow camper together when Mount Olympus was crushed by the descending face scattering marble everywhere and ruining all of Annabeth's hard rebuilding work. Percy thinks of Hestia's hearth on Olympus and wails.

"I'm not gonna be a saxophone star if this keeps up!" Austin says.

"It's a fucking face, it's-it's a face!" Screams Miranda, who began clawing at her cheeks, eyes rolled back.

"Heroes don't look, you will lose your Sanity!" Chiron bellowed. His face was the most panicked Percy had ever seen it, all of his hair magically going gray from stress and shock.

The warning came too late for Miranda, and Mr. D was nowhere in sight.

Miranda rips out her own eyes to try and erase the image from her mind, and everyone screams.

An Iris message flickered into view and a Roman Demigod shimmered in the rainbow, and he was at least glad to see the Romans were making usage of this new ability. Her face was bloodless but her armor splattered with it.

"I'm part of the guard posted at Mt. Othrys to keep an eye on Atlas and the ruins." She gasped, clutching her side. "He's gone, and so is everyone else, the ground swallowed them into an awful pit and-and now, the sky, it's, its falling!"

The face comes closer as everyone screams when it looks directly at them, face twisted in hatred and Percy looks away seconds before he loses his Sanity and burns up. More screams ring out as the sky twists and writhes slowly to Earth, the sun knocked off its orbit. Percy can faintly see Apollo spinning head over heels in the air before one of the many writing faces in the sky rips him from Zeus's shaky grasp with his teeth.

And bites down.

Flashes of Apollo's golden Ichor and earth shattering impacts thunder through his very bones, rupturing his ears as all the gods at once-in their true forms-try to hold Ouranos at bay.

"I don't feel so good." Haley whimpers, skin cracking, eyes melting.

"You didn't look-" Nyssa says desperately, eyes trained to the ground.

Haley crumbles to ashes.

"NO!" Leo howls.

Everyone starts screaming again, flashes of bright light temporarily blind Percy. He can only listen as a faint whisper mounts into a constant long, low howl of grief and insanity.

"What can we do?!"

"Nothing! Get to your cabins!" Chiron says, which is something he has never said before.

The still living campers stagger as fast at the can. Percy runs to cabin 3 with his eyes flashing with bright gold spots that block his vision.

"Oh gods, oh gods! HELP M-!" An Ares camper turns to smoke under the smoldering glare of Ouranos, steps away from their cabin and Percy retches in horror. He tries to use water to put out another camper but it does nothing except wash away their ashes.

He doesn't know how he makes it. Other Campers burned up with less distance and less exposure to go. It seemed like the adrenaline made time slow down, or it could be his status as a big three kid that saved his life.

Percy hyperventilates in the deep pool in his cabin, with underwater fixtures made in Atlantis and with a secret passage only accessible to him that led to the ocean.

It's every nightmare he ever had coming to life at once.

He has no way to get to Annabeth who was visiting her dad, or his parents in New York or to even help his friends a few feet away from him.

The apocalypse rages outside. Zeus's thunder flashes all the way down to the pool and he can feel the shaking. He would be fighting for his domain and status as king.

He can feel the sea in turmoil, his father also battling with the other gods.

Percy closes his eyes and prays.

...

The Constellations reanimate.

Once content in their places in the heavens above even Olympus, faithfully following the curve of the universe as it dances on it's axis.

They now move in a dazzling array of light, flashing in a way that is like a cry for help, the frantic clicking in morse code of a sinking ship sending out an SOS. Twinkling stars turn to raging inferno's as the constellations scream, desperately try to stop the raging heavens. It's the worlds worst disco party, and so incredibly disorienting that Percy immediately throws up and almost dies upon seeing it.

He hadn't realized how much he depended on the constellation's for navigation until they moved.

They are immediately lost.

Their small party of survivors must go off landmarks of an increasingly destroyed world. They don't know where they are as reality melts down.

The North Star's light is smothered, the steam frying the skies. The Constellation of Perseus tries to slay Ouranos with his Harpe sword only to be blow into stardust. Scorpio's tail is crushed and the poison drips down and fries several could nymphs. Leo the Lion's impenetrable hide is chewed to pieces by several screaming faces.

And then.

The one constellation.

The one Perseus always looked up to, ever since she was laid in the sky, decorating the heavens, a beacon to them all. A constellation that brought Percy immeasurable regret, a strange nostalgia and sense of connection, and comfort.

Zoe, the huntress.

Percy watches his friend die a second time.

…

The campers are hunted down. At random times the sky would gather a burst of strength and reach down and spear a poor demigod from the top of their skulls to their toes with no warning if they were out in the open, meaning any above ground traveling was a risk.

The few survivors and Percy had to make use of the labyrinth to various success with the help of the goddess Ariadne's sole surviving Demigod. Who is promptly targeted and killed. The mortals had long since burned away, a fact that has made Percy cry so hard he threw up and passed out.

The three Elder Gods are putting up the best fight.

They are failing.

Despite the sun and moon being frozen in place after the defeat of Artemis and Apollo, Percy can actually tell time very well in comparison to his other demigod. Sure the time blends together for him as well but unlike the others, who can't tell if it's been months or years, he can somehow tell it's been 11 months.

Roughly. He can roughly tell it's been 11 months.

9 months ago the last of the mortals were killed and the Underworld was closed off by Hades when he used his Helm to slow the crawling of Tartarus.

6 months ago camp Jupiter finally fell.

4 months ago he felt the seas boil and fade.

And one month ago…

Percy chokes back tears.

One month ago he felt his father die.

It happened when Zeus Master Bolt burned out from it's own force, when Poseidon, now split between the sky and the pit, with his primary seat of power in Atlantis destroyed when Percy convinced him to help in New York, could no longer bear it by himself.

Poseidon knew he would be cast into chaos, fade into nothing, and he had managed to gather the final remnants of his strength, of his power, and visit Percy. A ghost of lips on his forehead as Poseidon blessed Percy with the remaining power of the Sea.

"Cherish it, as I have cherished you." Poseidon's normally deep, strong voice wasn't even a whisper so much as it was an imprint on Percy's mind as his father gave him what was left of his power and love.

"Look within son. I can't see how but your salvation lies there." The wisps of powers sink into Percy's chest, offering him the first bit of warmth since this terror started "You will always have your fathers love with you."

Nobody had hope anymore.

Demigods kept dying and Percy could see their souls screams before they vanished forever.

A thunderous crash and Percy is met with a sense of deja vu.

"Well, Percy Jackson. This is it for me." Mr. D, Dionysus said. His face was grim as he visited Percy in his dreams, during the few snatches of sleep he was able to acquire.

"I know you are the only remaining Demigod."

"Annabeth?"

"She is gone as well. It seems this was Gaia's last revenge, to unleash her husband. If she couldn't be free, then she would see everything destroyed by him."

"What can we do? I-I can't, I CAN'T ANYMORE!" Percy cries, hands clutching at his face, his hair. He can feel himself losing it, the last shreds of his sanity circling the drain as Percy gives up.

He gives up Hope.

Hestia is no longer with him to keep the faith.

Mr. D cups it back in his cracking hands and places all his Hope, all the Hope left in this damned in Percy.

"Hestia asked me to give you back Hope."

"Why can't she do it? Why didn't she run?" Percy croaks out. His throat is dry. The water is all gone.

Mr. D. eyes reflect a million unsaid things. The fading god looks at Hope and give it one last try.

"So, Percy. I've never treated you as well as I should have. That goes for other demigods tool but you in particular. Right now your status as the last child of the Big Three but not being a god gives you the unique position of being able to slip under Ouranos's radar but being powerful enough to survive. The situation is dire, you're already almost insane, so I give you this to keep you grounded. This pains me to admit, but If anyone can find a way, you can."

Much like his dad, except less paternal but still gentle. Mr. D lays his hand on Percy's chest, and Percy is struck with horror at the realization at what the god was trying to do.

"No I don't want it, it don't want to think-not by myself, PLEAS-"

Mr. D gives Percy the remains of his powers, which at this point are the remaining bits of his domains of Sanity.

Percy screams in horrible, horrible comprehension and Sanity as the last person he knows vanishes. He is forced to realize this. The fragments left of the domain of Sanity sit snug behind his ribcage, stubborn and unmoving along with the remnants of the Sea and he doesn't know what to do next.

As he falls in exhaustion, flashes of gold take over his vision.

…

He's Alone.

Most things have been destroyed.

Percy wanders the wasteland, unable to have the relief of insanity, something he never thought he would think.

He is unable to give up Hestia's Hope beating in his chest

The few things that broke up the boredom of nothing around was the occasional monster that hadn't already been thrown into the pit of Chaos. He crouched behind the remains of a park bench, hoping that Ouranos wouldn't have one of his brief spells of consciousness and crush him.

"How much longer until Ouranos fully awakens and destroys the earth?"

"I don't know. Zeus delayed him with his last bit of energy. It could take awhile for the pit and the sky to meet. At least all the gods are gone!"

Percy swallows a scream of despair. His hands shake as they clench fistfulls of dirt.

"All of the gods, are you sure?" Asked a monster.

"Yeah. And the titans who didn't fade either. I think the last to survive was Hades and Iapetus before the pit got to them."

"Guess we're next."

"Yeah."

Percy once would have felt shocked at the way the monster didn't care about their imminent non-existence but he knew monsters had different minds. And after all this shit he could kinda understand.

"It's funny that I almost forgot about him, since I was actually among his ranks at the battle of Manhattan, but Kronos-"

Percy's ears rang, his vision lined with gold and he felt a swell of power in his chest that almost made him gasp out lough had the power not been enough to steal his breath away. The feeling warmed his body from head to toe.

"-So scattered he might be the only being, God, Titan, or otherwise, that Ouranos can't reach."

"That no one can reach." The other monster corrected. "We've talked too long, I want to get the credit for hunting down the last Demigod. We've already scoured the ruins of Atlantis for him. Lets keep looking in New York."

Prophecy sang in his chest as the monster left to search for him. It whispered to him, begged him to understand, nudged him to look deeper.

So Percy did.

He dug deep into his mind, his very soul in the way you only could during the end of the world. He rustled the shards of Sanity, went past the whispers of the Sea in his being, and there, behind the two of them, lay gold.

Right behind his heart, planted and dormant all these years, through several encounters, linked by prophecy and fate, the connection through his dad and nurtured by Percy's own power, lay the largest remaining golden piece of Kronos.

…

He's torn.

Percy navigated the ruined landscape, looking for supplies, pockets where life still exists but increasingly does not, his hand over his heart the whole time.

He feels like Napoleon.

A faint smile rises to his face. He learned that from Annabeth.

The golden grain whispered and hummed to him. Nothing he could make out, but it was surprisingly reassuring.

When Percy had first realized what it was he had the worst panic attack of his life, complete with hyperventilating, tears, and of course, passing out. He kept imagining himself burning up from the inside out as Kronos had planned to do with Luke. He wondered if the shard was biding its time all along, waiting for Percy to weaken before taking over his mind, to force him to hurt his loved ones like it had forced Luke too.

Well.

Not many friends or family around anymore.

He's desperate, and lonely.

Percy sometimes goes to his old schools and sits in the classrooms, pretending, if only for a moment, that things were normal again and that soon the bell would ring and he would go home to his mom typing away, a stew bubbling on the stove, and Paul would help him with his homework while trying to clean Estelle's face.

It hurts to think of.

It's his only comfort.

Anything would be better than this crushing loneliness, where the wind howled only to carry the voice of Ouranos, enough to make him want to scratch out his ears. The otherwise painfully empty cities, the way ash rained down, probably made up of countless formerly living things.

Percy hadn't talked to anyone except Dionysus, and that had been 2 months ago. He froze his tracks, having been struggling to open a can of expired peaches.

Could it be that he knew the amount of time that had passed because of the shard?

It whispered louder, spreading warmth through him and hot waves of power that made him jump.

What had his father meant that the key to his salvation was within? He couldn't have meant this.

…Could he?

Percy really didn't want to ignore his father's last words but was this really it?

Being scattered sounded horrible at first, and still did, but compared to what was going on now, the painful shrieks of the gods he heard all the way down here as they dissolved into Chaos seemed worse.

Like a lightning bolt, an idea hit him.

His dad's words about saltwater, the purity within, how it could purify, how it could heal. How both Mr. D and his dad had been able to gather what remained of their scattered, weakened power and give it to him.

Percy's heart beat fast, his mind spun.

Could he do the same with Kronos?

Prophecy surged in his chest in a crescendo of noise that made him duck and cover his face.

Yes! Yes!

No. Could this really be the solution? How could Kronos help? Last Percy had seen him he had been desperately fighting Luke for control, cursing all of them as he howled in rage before being defeated. He had been heartless, desperate, and insane.

Insane.

Dreams of the past several years come to mind, the mysterious nightmares where he was a person who fought with his father, where he was cursed and lost his mind.

His heart jackrabbits in his chest.

Was…was that Kronos? Had the shard in his chest been sharing vision's of Kronos's life this whole time?

The gold hums and spins as if in confirmation and Percy gasps, not knowing how good it would feel to communicate with somebody, anybody, even Kronos. He had lost everyone and now somebody was possibly here for him.

Deep grief wells up in his chest, not all his own, and his eyes water. In the twisted steel shield that lay under him Percy notices his eyes briefly flicker gold.

Percy tries to imagine what it would be like to work so hard to save your family only to be cursed to be the monster you feared and hurt the very people you love.

The golden grain throbs with fierce emotion.

Grief.

Love.

Guilt.

Percy feels these emotions as if they were his own because they almost are. He feels grief for everyone who has died, guilt that he somehow survived, and overwhelming love that kept him going.

Had being shattered freed Kronos of his curse? If it reduces him to his base elements could he have washed away the evil parts of himself? It seemed too good to be true.

Percy is scared.

But he is more scared of being alone forever, if not tortured for all eternity. He slowly gets to his feet, brushing off ash, face determined, jaw set.

Kronos is beyond the reach of Ouranos.

He is not beyond Percy's reach.

…

Tenderly, and with patience Percy does not normally have but does in this very abnormal situation, Percy begins to heal the gold grain.

It takes intense focus for him to be able to take the golden grain and channel its powers through his hands. He watches in complete enchantment as find golden threads weave through his fingers, hugging his knuckles, smoothing over the backs of his hands, and squeezing the valleys of his fingers. The physical contact feels good, and he is suddenly aware of how incredibly touched-starved he is. It feels like someone gently holding his hand.

To his great embarrassment, Percy tears up at that thought.

The threads hum.

"Ya know, my mom, she-uh, she used to hold my hand too. We'd like, dash across the street to avoid cars, and when it rained she'd dress us in worn out clothes and we'd go to the park and jump in puddles and we'd hold hands as we jumped up and down."

The thread still, as if listening in rapt attention.

He takes a deep breath, summoning the familiar and right power of the Sea, and the foreign and stubborn shards of Sanity, bringing them to his fingers and he gently begins to purify and strengthen the gold.

He washes and soothes as lightly as he dares. He thinks of the hardships Kronos went through in his dreams and lightens his touch even more.

"When we were done, we'd go inside and she'd take my smaller hands-which were really dirty-and wash them in the sink with warm water."

The gold seems to thrive under the strengthening process, rapidly oscillating from dark amber to a yellow so light it was almost white, sanity, distillation, and purification slowly gathering glitter from the air and concentrating it to his palms.

"I miss it." his eyes begin to water. "I-I think-no, I'm pretty sure I dreamed your memories. I don't know if you shared them with me on purpose or it was a side effect of your shard in my soul, but I saw you, um, what happened to you. H-How you were scared, and how everyone was too afraid to get close to you because of how badly you wanted to do something about Ou-your father, how your mother might have cared but she cared more about how you could work for her, and when you finally beat him you had a reputation and the curse was already in progress, making everyone scared of you."

The Great Prophecy. An ancient Curse. The same thing in the end. Percy fights back tears as he struggles with the realization that he relates to Kronos.

"You never got-never had the chance to just be at peace with people who really knew you. And I'm sorry that happened to you. You didn't deserve it."

The golden threads, despite still being healed, are no longer flashing colors. They are carefully still as Percy puts into words his feelings about Kronos, eyes shining with unshed tears and understanding.

"I love my mom but so much of my life has been lonely, with people I didn't know and who didn't know me or like me, and that jerk of a step-father. It took years for camp half-blood to warm up to me. They saw me as a dangerous threat, and the gods, even my own dad at the beginning, saw me as a tool, a-a weapon for them. The whole time I was just a scared little kid, and I'm still so fucking scared. I finally got the chance to settle down with the people I love and it was taken from me too."

The golden threads spread like vines down his forearms, waving slowly in the air, reaching out like hands towards his grief stricken face. Percy initially startles back, but the warm glow feels like Hestia's gentle fire, and he can only lean in closer.

"I don't know how you'll be if, or uh, when you're healed. I don't know if you'll be like you were in Manhattan, I-uh, gotta admit, you were pretty terrifying."

The vines shrink back as if trying to be non-threatening. The gold in his chest swirls with deep emotion.

Guilt. Remorse. Regret. All these emotions vaguely rise in his chest from the gold.

"All we have left is us. I'm gonna try and help you, and I really need you to help me out too, and I… I don't know what will happen but we're each others only hope."

…

Percy does his best to continue healing the grain the same way the sarcophagus had originally done, but it's hard.

He can't put too much power in it or Ouranos will sense his presence and either send monsters or try to kill Percy himself. Because of that, progress is slow. He is able to draw golden energy to his palms, and carefully purify it with the remnants of Sanity and the Sea, but while that fortifies it, it has yet to restore Kronos to communication.

Percy whispers stories to the light, sharing memories, thoughts, hopes and dreams of his and the light seems to do its best to respond as Percy bears his heart to it. It reminds Percy of the Demeter kids who said that talking to plants encouraged them to grow.

Nothing grew anymore.

All the while it murmurs back to him. Faint, weak, and unidentifiable, it's still enough to drown out the twisted moans of hatred from Ouranos, the gold that lines his vision whenever he is in distress is enough to spare him the worst of what he sees from the sky.

At nights, he could almost feel a large hand cupping his face, wiping away his tears with a thumb. It could just be him imaging his parents but…it somehow feels more than that.

Ouranos no longer visits him when he sleeps, voice horrible and filled with a hatred so deep and divine Percy can't understand it. Instead he tries his best to share memories with it, who blocks the sky father from his mind.

Memories always get a reaction from it.

Baking cookies with his mother causes feelings of love and longing and hurt to bubble up. Scenes of training fails bring amusement and admiration for some reason. And monster attacks cause fierce protectiveness and possessiveness to wash over Percy from the golden orb, as if it thinks the all encompassing strength of its emotions would be enough to armor and protect Percy.

It almost seems grateful, but he could be making that up in his mind to reassure himself, to suppress the huge amount of guilt he feels in dragging someone else into this. How could he bring anyone into this horror? He can't help it!

It tries to soothe him to no avail.

Then, he messes up.

"Very kind of you to send out such a beacon of power." A monster sneers. Her skin is made up of the face of past victims, dried into cracking leather. Percy recognizes some of the faces. She has claws like serrated knives. An extremely old tattered bit of an orange camp shirt is stuck between jagged teeth.

"The funniest thing is, death won't be a relief for you. Once you're a soul you'll lose what remaining power you have for your paltry attempts at defending yourself, and you'll be at the mercy of what mercy we have. Which is none!" She laughs.

Unlike in the past, he does not have a witty retort ready. Perhaps he'd point out her poor dental hygiene. But he's hungry, he's tired, and there's a nasty gash wound in his leg and he can't run.

He cups his hands and the gold in it by his face in a joke of a prayer, wrists and fingers wrapped with golden wisps, salty tears dripping off his cheek and into his palms as his mouth trembles.

"Please. Please help me." He whispers desperately, knowing there are no Gods to answer.

She laughs at that.

And lunges.

Gold.

Gold.

Fierce, powerful Gold fills the air, his eyes, his ears, it resonates through his chest and Percy feels weightless before realizing that it's physically lifting him away from the Monster in a firm but forgiving hold.

She moves towards him with fangs and claws bared as if in slow motion, and Percy realizes that's exactly what's happening.

Time has slowed down for the monster.

The gold light shines brighter, warmth and color not seen since Atlas fell, and the monster screams as the shining light's purifying powers burn her.

They are aimed at the monster but reach Percy too.

He tries to suppress the fear he is feeling, the reminder of the raw power that was Kronos, how he had been the strongest of all the titans, how he would have burnt Luke to ash even with the Curse of Achilles just as how everyone else had burnt to ash, how he stopped time for a city of millions handicapped and in a human form.

Exhaustion lines the edges of his vision, but Percy is aware enough to hear something faint and muddled, but resonating with sincerity and love, which would have been enough to knock him on his ass if he wasn't already doing that. His skin is steaming, dry, and raw from the power and he can only look at it in distant pain.

"-ryysorysorryi'msorry,heregrandsoncarfullyi'll lay you down,thankyouthankyouthankyou-"

The voice had a strange, but potent quality to it, like it's not out-loud but in his head. It reminds him of the last words his father spoke to him, faint, whispers, and in his head. He is laid down gently on the tattered remains of a blanket. He can faintly feel a kiss on his brow and large gentle hands on his injured leg.

Sleep.

…

When Percy awakes his leg is completely healed. It's as if time reversed to before he was injured and the longer he thinks about it, he realizes that's exactly what must have happened. His tattered blanket is in pristine condition, with some of it even reverting to cotton plants. Near him, the barely clinging to life bushes are now young and filled with berries and nuts again, for however long that lasts, and his can of peaches is no longer expired.

Gold glows in his chest, molten yet careful, oh so careful tendrils reaching out through his ribcage and shoulder, twining and looping around soft tissues and bone, filling him with strength and support. It's stronger than before and able to use its power to mask Percy from monsters. From Ouranos.

He sobs in relief, hands cupping his sternum.

"K-Kronos?" He croaks, desperate, hopeful.

The gold surges, faint whispers pick up again like a breeze caressing his face, excited and relieved, and ever so grateful.

"...awake, you're… awake!" The voice is faint but getting clearer. With a hysterical laugh Percy realizes the salty tears-so much like seawater-that had rolled into his palm and onto the wisps of Kronos had been able to heal him somewhat, and in turn Kronos had saved their lives.

"I'm sorry… for everything…felt you're tearsthank you forrsavingme,curse isgone." Kronos whispers. The Sanity shards are gone, they had been used to fully heal Kronos's mind, if not his body

"Why aren't you mad at me? I brought you into this." His voice breaks with tears.

Kronos's voice croons again, having exhausted his strength to form words but still wanting to reassure his grandson.

"-have a chance now. To love like I wanted to…know you too." Kronos' faint voice says with so much sincerity Percy almost can't handle it. It seems to be gaining strength.

"I think I would like to know you too." The son of the sea echoes slowly.

The gold shines like the sun.

Like Hope.

…

The process continues.

Percy brings Kronos's essence out in his palm and concentrates and Kronos does his best to help, offering encouragement, and then later able to aid in the process of drawing in more granules.

He feels the lord of Time's power flow through him, and Percy is acutely aware that he is now the host of Kronos. Gathering his power and then being able to form a physical shape are two different things. Percy is Kronos's anchor.

The thought chills him to the bone, but the alternative is somehow worse. Kronos either can't read Percy's thoughts or perhaps he's merciful enough to give him privacy and Percy is very grateful.

Still, Kronos can pick up on Percy's fear, and alternates between trying to stay quiet, and talking to Percy, knowing how desperate the half-blood is for company.

"You're doing amazing, Perseus." The titan encouraged softly.

"...Thanks." Percy said awkwardly, startled but delighted at the complement. From the moment he could take to Percy, Kronos has had nothing but kind words for him. It's jarring. He's almost like a personal cheerleader, and for a brief moment Percy thinks of Kelli and the other Empousa in Tartarus, and wonders if they and Kronos ever line-danced down there.

It's almost enough to distract him when Ouranos eats the remaining shell of the sun.

Kronos keeps him from freezing.

Once, when Percy pushes himself so far he collapses, whole frame shaking, Kronos…doesn't quite take control but surges his own power through his grandson which allows Percy to bring them under a reinforced concrete slab, where he clumsily and carefully settles into a comfortable position.

"Careful precious, carefully." The titan whispers worriedly, the phantom of giant hands on his shoulders as if to steady him. Percy repeats the words through his own mouth, in a trance and it's almost as if the titan is speaking through him.

That thought unsettled Percy.

"Do you care?" Percy gasps through exhaustion.

Many complicated emotions surge through Percy's chest, not his own and unidentifiable.

"Yes grandson, deeply and with everything I am. It is here on the cusp of a chaotic nothing that I finally have freedom. I only wish it were not so dire for you, and that I hadn't carried out so much harm. I regret it deeply Perseus, but I am grateful for you." The titan says, voice fading as his impassioned statement takes up strength.

"I… and I'm grateful you're here too. I forgive you. For uh, what happened." Percy croaks.

Golden warmth blooms in his chest, gratitude, amazement, joy, elation and most shocking of all, love.

…

To fill the time Percy talks about his life, and Kronos listens with rapt attention.

"-then we'd have to count the numbers during hopscotch and see how far we could get. Girls were always really good at it. Oh! And we had another game called shadow puppets. That's where you'd take your hands, shine a light on them and your shadow would be projected on a flat wall behind you, and depending on the angle it could look like a dog or something."

"The humans of my era were joyful and merry like that as well. I had wished the same for us too." Kronos said wistfully, thoughtfully, sadly.

"Oh, I hadn't really thought about that. You watched the humans?"

"Does this surprise you?"

"I kinda thought only the Gods did that, and like, only to laugh at us, ya know?" Percy said awkwardly.

"No, dearest," Kronos says softly, the paternal endearment causing Percy's face to heat, "I was, when I was still rational, quite envious-especially of their family bonds. To my horror the humans were too delicate, and I too strong. When I tried to approach, I incinerated someone. My guilt from this marked a turning point where the curse was able to latch on to those negative emotions and take over."

Percy once again feels horrible grief, both his own and Kronos's.

Tears bubble up once again.

Kronos croons.

"You needn't shed tears for me, precious. Look."

The gold threads swaying in his hands begin a careful dance. It's clear Kronos is new at this as vague shapes flit in and out of existence as he tests the waters.

Percy can feel his eyes widen in wonder, mouth dropping open in awe as suddenly figures come to life in his palms.

A sheep made from golden threads perches on his thumb, a proud stallion gallops across his forearm, and his palms are filled with swaying golden forests. Kronos has gained enough strength where gold is no longer limited to his cupped hands, but over his shoulders and neck. A few swaying leaves brush against his cheek, gently wiping his tears away.

"Not quite shadows, but I hope I captured the spirit of your children's game."

"I-yeah!" Percy laughs for the first time in over a year as the stallion and sheep try to race. "This is amazing. In fact I think I can…"

Percy trails off as he concentrates, and by using the Domain of the Sea, he makes a swirling mist of an ocean lap up against the forest, a lovely nereid swimming in it, and a beautiful foggy blue foal joins the golden stallion. It's strange in a good way as Percy acutely feels each movement of his summoned avatars.

He's struck by an epiphany.

Is this…is this how the gods felt when they split their consciousness?

He was the ocean lapping up against his wrist, the currents through the hair of the nereid, the nereid herself, and the clumsy cantering of the young colt, eager to greet the older, familiar stallion. He feels each tiny hoof as it canters over to Kronos's manifestations.

"Perseus…" Kronos whispers in awe.

His heartbeats fast as the adventurous foal presses against the stallion. Gold flashes, and Percy becomes acutely aware of Kronos's presence. He can almost feel the titan.

The older stallion is frozen for all but a few moments before leaning down and instantly nudging the colt's head with its own. The point of contact feels like a shockwave in Percy's soul. Kronos had not hidden his affection for his grandson, even if he had kept it subtle as to not overwhelm Percy, knowing how his grandson was wary of him.

This is different.

The depths of Kronos's pride and love in Percy, for standing up to him, stopping him, understanding him, and then freeing him make Percy feel like he's some sort of hero.

The moment of connection breaks, and Percy gasps. The manifestations vanish and he's shivering from the strain, feeling weak.

Kronos fades into his usually regenerative state after the display of power and control. Percy can only catch a few encouraging, touched whispers before the Titan is temporarily asleep again.

…

"Kronos, after you gain more strength do you know how we'll defeat him?" Percy asks.

Kronos is quiet.

"...The same tactic can't be used. I've lost my Scythe to the sands of time. We'll have to see, but be assured grandson that I will do everything in my power to see you well." Kronos says fiercely. For a brief moment gold swirls around Percy, picking up ash and catching his hair before settling down again.

…

With each healing session he needs time to consolidate his additional strength and stabilize it and Percy misses Kronos when the silence sets in. His sleep is getting longer as they gather more and more power.

So that's probably why Ouranos was able to slip through.

Percy's dreams have been fiercely guarded by Kronos to prevent any hint of the ambient horror that Ouranos generated from getting in. His vulnerable mind was instead soothed with dreams of happier times in his life, which were coaxed from his subconscious from Kronos. While the two of them were distinct entities, Kronos was able to somewhat influence Percy's dreams due to Percy's giving him permission.

Now, with Kronos himself doing his best to focus on getting as much power as possible to combat Ouranos, he was vulnerable again.

It started with the melting sky.

He was back at camp-halfblood and watching as molten pieces of the heavens drip-dropped down on campers with scary accuracy, crushing, melting, and spearing them. There was nowhere to hide. Percy watches as their bodies melted at his feet and pooled around his ankles, then his legs, the swirling liquids filled with viscera, with familiar faces that moaned and screamed for help.

"Percy why, why did you let this happen!"

"I'm sorry! I-I can't, What do I do!"

The sky was coming closer, a face bigger than the moon snarling and coming directly towards Percy.

He knew this was a dream.

He tried to break himself free but before he could wake Ouranos began to laugh and Percy screamed in terror, struck with the realization that the Sky wouldn't let him escape. Kronos was still sleeping.

"Come. Here." It breathed.

A hand began to form.

"Help! Please! Someone!" Percy's cries joined in with the melted campers. He was stuck in the horrible lake, completely powerless and he screamed and wailed, as the moon sized hand came closer.

"No!"

Sobbing, shaking, he could do nothing.

"H-Help me, Grandfather HELP ME! GRANDFATHER!"

Gold.

The horrible scene floods with the blinding light, silencing the cries of the lake, as time stopped for Ouranos, whose awful face froze in an expression of anger and shock. Gold surrounded and lifted Percy up as if he weighed nothing, up into the shifting sands of time, silky yellow curtains, golden grains.

"You will not take him, you cannot have him!" Kronos thundered.

Spears of golden power fought the heavens. Aureate wrath and rage and fierce protectiveness beat back the molten sky.

"No type of harm shall befall him while I am here!"

The Sky wailed in rage.

"BEGONE!"

And Percy's dreams were light and safe. He was awash with shades of yellow, bronze, amber, copper and gold. It was hypnotizingly beautiful and it made him feel completely protected and safe. The currents of time almost even seemed to swaddle him.

Percy sobbed.

"Oh my heart." Kronos sounded pained as his great voice echoed all around him. "Beautiful, I am so sorry."

"I-I I'm weak! I couldn't do anything to stop him!" He hiccoughed. He curled up into a ball and covered his face with his hands and wept bitter tears.

"Not at all, you've survived this long, you held on, you called for me." Kronos whispered gently. He sounded deeply moved. The ferocious voice from before is gone. He's all soft angles with Percy and that thought makes him cry harder.

Kronos lets him cry, offering comfort and Percy is so ridiculously grateful for it.

"Thank you thank you-" Percy whispers out between stuttered gasps for breath.

"Always. Forever." His voice was heartfelt. "I am sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"You're here now." Percy said, voice calming "You're here now. We have each other."

Kronos laughed. The sound lifted him and made Percy huff in amusement as he dried his tears.

"We do. Grandson, the time approaches for us to act and you need to heal. Will you allow me to lull you to rest?"

Kronos was already in his mind, but to let him in deeper? To allow access to Percy in his most vulnerable state?

Percy didn't even have to think twice.

"Yes. Yes please."

A gathering of sounds, from campfire songs, his mother humming, to his father whispering to him in his crib as Kronos made Percy a lullaby. The scene changes and Percy sees his family, mortal and immortal, mingling and completely happy, and he sees children not far off playing games, he sees himself and an older man, one with golden brown eyes and who shares the same hair as Poseidon, who is hanging on to every detail that Percy tells him, and everyone is okay.

As he drifts off he realizes that maybe…maybe this is Kronos's dream too.

…

Now that Ouranos has sussed out their general location from that moment of vulnerability it was nonstop monsters.

While Kronos grew behind his ribcage, monsters nipped at Percy's heels. Credit where credit is due, whatever divine bullshit Zeus pulled in his last moments was doing a decent job of slowing Ouranos's descent, to the point where the Sky could only send twisted monsters ripped from its own primordial body to hunt them down as Kronos was interfering with its aim.

Percy jumped, flipped, parried, ducked, and twisted when he couldn't outrun them. Kronos sat like a tense time-bomb that Percy felt with every beat of his heart whenever the monsters got close, enraged that they dared to try and hurt Percy. When a monster did get too close a flash of golden light would incinerate them.

That took power, and it ran the risk of hurting Percy in high amounts like before, and occasionally did still burn Percy-much to Kronos's guilt-and also narrowed down their location, so Kronos couldn't do it often but nevertheless Percy felt giddy that his grandfather was looking out for him.

Hm.

Grandfather.

That's a…loaded word but the more Percy turns it over in the privacy of his own mind, the righter it feels. Kronos has been gentle with him, and very clear with his motives and emotions. He wants to help Percy, he wants to be with his grandson, and stop Ouranos.

A monster gargles behind him, molten Sky floats down thickly from its mouth like the poisonous gas it is.

"Hey ugly!"

It turns towards him.

Kronos tenses.

"Ever hear of mouthwash?"

It shrieks in mindless rage, breaking into a 4-legged sprint towards Percy. His sword can't penetrate the thick fog in its mouth and any rocks thrown in would get crushed between teeth.

Percy dodges to the side.

The monster swipes out with an arm and Percy barely leaps over it in time. Kronos begins to ready himself.

"Wait!" Percy shouts," I got it."

Kronos backs off, but stays ready to emerge and separate if need be. Kronos had recently gained enough strength to briefly manifest a center of power outside of Percy.

The monster charges again and so does Percy.

He takes what remains of the Sea and powerblasts the Monster directly in it's mouth and through it's nape, killing it, and then a few seconds later taking it's head clean off.

"Well done my pearl." Kronos says, and if he had a face it sounds like he would be smiling.

"Yeah, set him straight." Percy says, gasping for breath.

The air was getting harder to breathe as Ouranos overcame Zeus's protections and contaminated it. They didn't have much longer. More and more parts of Ouranos dripped down, and soon he would be here.

The radiant aureate pride turns to concern.

"...Dearest?"

Percy doesn't respond, hands on his knees, hunched over, and thinking deeply. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure, but he felt shy and nervous all of a sudden.

Kronos must have felt his emotions and the titans own concern mounted.

"Grandson? What is it?"

Percy takes a steadying breath.

"Kronos? Can…can I, um." Percy cuts himself off, heat rising to his face. He's technically talking to himself too, like he had when he was truly alone, trying to keep the words quiet or else Ouranos would hear, but now he has Kronos with him.

"Take your time. You may ask anything of me."

A tentative smile crosses his ash covered face.

"...Can I call you grandfather?"

The world seemed to freeze and Percy realized all time had stopped except for Percy and Kronos. The wailing winds are still and silent, ash no longer whips past him, and monsters in the distance are frozen mid gait. Kronos's power is truly incredible. The cold colorless world was now bursting with warm shades ranging from light lemon to bronze to copper to rose-gold to ochre, filling the bleak world with the first bit of life in months.

Radiant threads turned to fibers and sheets that wrapped around Percy, cords that looped around his shoulders and neck, twined around his ankles, his waist, cupped his cheek in the facsimile of an embrace.

The titan's emotions wash over Percy in powerful waves of love, awe, gratitude, honor and so many other emotions that flashed through his heart. The very essence of Kronos burst with joy, before the titan ended at an elated, but calm state.

"Yes Perseus, my Grandson," Kronos said in a slightly tremulous voice, every syllable lined with adoration. "You may call me grandfather."

…

Ragged breaths are torn from his throat from the toxic air as Percy runs for their lives. Golden vines span through his lungs, helping to purify the air but it's not enough anymore.

Cracking.

Not like gunshots, not like a cannon, not even like a landslide, Percy looks up and sees the final remains of Zeus's defenses break and the sky rushes through.

"Grandfather-"

"I know." Kronos says grimly, urgently.

The sky froths and foams and breaks the earth around them as it falls down and Percy screams.

Radiant warmth the color of the sun bursts forth from Percy and the giant mockery of a face rushing to meet them slows to a crawl as it's scorched by burning bronze power. Percy can see Ouranos trying to break free, smaller parts of the primordial break off and squeeze through and leave craters in the desolate earth that knock him to his feet.

Insane eyes zero in on Percy in horrible, insane comprehension.

"C-Can you beat him?"

"No, not like this, but I have one final plan, one last hope I hadn't dared to attempt before!"

"How long?!"

"A few more moments of concentration! Please grandson-"

Ouranos screeches.

Percy yells back and charges, determined to buy time for his grandfather.

Kronos's essence holds back the worst of Ouranos but the sky is gaining strength on the ground.

Percy ducks but not in time and a swipe from the sky disintegrates all of the skin and some of the muscle on his back.

Kronos howls in rage on his behalf.

He lashes out with his sword, takes bits off the sky, stuns his great-grandfather and he can feel the world begin to tilt, can feel things fade out in a wash of light from Kronos.

Ouranos's next blow catches his foot, stronger and with more divine power and Percy feels his foot fade to ash, then his shin, then his knee as the corruption spreads.

"Grandfather!"

A gleaming aura surrounds Percy as he tries to crawl away and Ouranos shouts and rants in rage in a language older than any other, one he can't speak but one he understands perfectly.

"Nearly there!"

Kronos needs just a little more power. Percy looks inward, sees the remains of his divinity, the Sea that protects him even now, and gives it to his grandfather as a sacrifice.

The sky falls.

Percy's body disintegrates. His eyes dry up, his teeth drop from his crumbling face and he can feel it as Ouranos reaches for his soul.

Gold.

…

Swirling dunes, the sands of time are close by and infinite and Percy feels like he's drifting forever.

Countless strands of yarn emerge from the shifting sands, twirling aimlessly around him and the only sense he can make of it is to realize these strands used to be knitted by the Fates, the ones who made sense of and balanced the energy Chaos put out before they too were felled by Ouranos.

He is just a soul, a spirit at this point hurtling through something he does not and cannot ever fully comprehend, the only thing to make sense was the gold everywhere, that cradled his being like something precious.

The color meant much to him. The jewelry his mom looked at but could never afford, the gleaming watches of the rich kids at school, mocking his everything, the first time they went to the beach and the way the dunes shone like precious metal and the waves were set alight, the way his mom shattered in a gleaming shower at the hands of the Minotaur, and the childlike wonder he had lost at that very moment.

Sanity is gone, and Percy feels the crushing weight of forever, and he can't be angry with the gods if this is what it means to be immortal.

He's lonely, exhausted, scared painedpowerless lost -

And cherished.

Gold once again covers his being and protects him from the worst of it. It tries to speak with him but everything that has ever been said echoes in his ears and he can't say words in this form.

After forever and in no time at all, that limbo space before camp but when he was old enough to know something was wrong. The way his mother told the truth with her mouth but worried with her eyes.

The way she told him no monsters were in his room but her pupils tracked the circling shadowy figures waiting out in the street below. The way her heart broke a million times and the way his did too. He was always more like his mother because of this.

He's on his bed.

It has sharks on it. His room is painstakingly painted with mermaids, fish, and coral, and in every imaginable shade of blue.

A mirror rests before him and he glances at his old-new body with different eyes.

Hands are small, soft, and callous free.

His body is thin and young, not yet touched by the violence inherent in demi-god life.

He presses his trembling hands against the mirror and admires the coolness, and the flecks of gold in his irises that weren't there before.

He's so heavy, in a way that goes against his nature of the ever changing, turning tides.

Sea Green eyes shimmer with a familiar color and warmth spreads through him.

"Grandfather?"

His voice is in a careful whisper of a seasoned warrior, yet high pitched in the way only youth can manage.

"I'm here, Perseus."

It's his mouth that moves in the mirror, his eyes that bloom with gold, but it's not solely his voice.

The Hero of Olympus, the Child of Prophecy, the last survivor at 19 years old, and Percy Jackson, the troublemaker 9 year old, calms at the sound of his grandfather's voice.

"You're safe, it's alright Perseus. I have taken you to where he can't hurt you."

The sky is a clear blue when he looks out his window and his pulse picks up. His grandfather's warm presence covering him like a blanket keeps him calm.

The primordial of the heavens, a being so twisted and evil he drove his wife to insanity, tortures his children and plagues his son with prophecy so that they would suffer the same fate, and cursed generations of divinity with this horror, wasn't awake.

Yet.

"Is there…can, can I stop it?" His voice was so young and hopeful it made his heart twist with bitter tears.

"No."

Percy is only barely aware of crashing to the carpet, still getting used to having a body again as he is overwhelmed with the possibility of reliving the apocalypse. Was it all for nothing? Was this hopeless?

"We can change it." The faintest feeling of a hand cradles his cheek and wipes away his tears, his eyes are a kaleidoscope of greens and gold. "You're not alone anymore, Perseus. I am with you, and sane because of you. Now let me take care of you."

Percy shakes and can feel his soul cry out in exhaustion. Hope rises. He hasn't recovered from being reduced to nothing and then taken through time. Arms wrap around a whole body seeking his grandfather's freely given comfort and when he finds it, it's priceless.

"I have you now, dearheart. You'll be alright. You've done so much, and you can rest now, I promise. I can take over and you can be innocent still, grandson."

Percy had put faith in his grandfather and he had delivered them. Kronos was the last hope and he had worked, had put Percy first, protected him, and now wanted to shoulder the burden with him.

With hope, faith, and a pure trust he had thought was crushed years ago, Percy places his heart in his Grandfather's hands.

The man cradles it like it's the most precious thing he's ever seen.

No.

Like Percy's the most precious thing he's ever seen.

"I took us back to before, where you were happiest. We can change this dearest, a better future is ahead of you, I promise."

A/N

Word Count: 17,171

Song of the chapter: Iridescent by Linkin Park: +++ watch?v=oqsxlLU_ebI

(Take out the +'s)

Sally Jackson has 100% killed monsters with that knife lol.

I got the Idea for this fic from another amazing oneshot by IzzyMRDB on ao3. My fic was mean to provide an explanation as to how the world ended and Percy and Kronos ended up in that situation. I tried to make this ending original while still following the spirit of the work but with my fic so heavily based on the idea of the original I'm not sure how well I did so please note the last few hundred words, starting from "swirling dunes" and ending at "I promise" aren't my own

I also got the informational text in the library book from another website.

Check out the comment section for more lore, background, and my analysis of this AU!

I really loved this work because of the grandfather-grandson relationship and the parallels between the two of them. Percy is cherished and so deeply loved by Kronos. He's the titans first connection to another person ever that wasn't tainted by a horrible father, a curse, or insanity. Kronos has always wanted to be a parent and hes finally gotten a chance to.

I tried to do my best to show how young Percy was and I think I did alright!

Tell me what you thought!