Son of the Moon
Chapter 66
-Hylla-
Even from the base of the mountain, Hylla could still feel the heat of the Emerald firestorm that consumed the Titan palace. The flames swirled upwards, an emerald vortex of fire and death. The sight broke the nerve of the monsters guarding it as they scattered, fleeing now that their base and both commanders were gone.
But Hylla could only look at her wrist with hollow agony. A bracelet with a single small gemstone, the twin of one worn by her sister, now had the stone shattered and dull.
"Praetor Reyna…" Dakota spoke up beside her, his eyes on the bracelet too.
"My sister…made the ultimate sacrifice for her people." Hylla looked up as she saw the still fleeing monsters. Being who'd sworn to serve the Titans, who had helped set up the situation that had resulted in her sister's death. She would honor her sister's memory, honor her sacrifice, and make sure they paid the price for their choice as well.
A murderous red aura began to bubble out from her skin as she drew her sister's sword "LET NONE ESCAPE!" Hylla roared as she charged the fleeing horde "MAKE THEM PAY FOR EVERY LIFE THEY STOLE!"
At her side, Dakota was matching her charge. The Legion knew of the plan to send an infiltration team, knew that their rage meant those soldiers wouldn't be coming home.
Rome's roar shook the heavens as they fell upon the horde and ensured the monsters learned what fear truly meant.
-Percy-
Busting into the command center by the Empire State Building, Percy saw the demigods laying scattered and broken. Every child of Apollo was hastily trying to stabilize those they could and others remained painfully still.
"What happened?!" Percy demanded, praying that he was wrong about what he assumed. But even with that shallow desperate plea, he knew of nothing else that could cause a thunderous boom of the magnitude he'd heard but the Storm Bringer.
"It was Kronos." Bianca snarled out, gritting her teeth as she tightened a tourniquet around her leg "He forced his way through alongside Miranda and Pollux."
"Polybotes and his Empousai chased after him." Nico was cradling a broken arm, "Go!" Hating having to leave his friends like this but knowing it was needed, Percy tore off to the elevator. The metallic doors slid open for him upon his approach as he bolted in. Slamming his fist onto the button with the number 500 that appeared, Percy was stuck pacing the small cramped space with only bad music for company.
He'd been securing the two captured Titans Perseus and Hyperion. It had taken all of his connection to the underworld through Hades' blessing, but he'd managed to toss the two weakened and injured immortals into a prison in Hades' palace. With Othrys apparently gone their injures were healing at a mortals' rate, leaving them in no state to keep fighting. He'd hoped that this would weaken Kronos as well, but it would seem Poseidon acting as the host had removed that weakness.
Hearing the elevator stop, Percy was moving even before the doors had fully opened, the metal breaking apart from his charge as he entered Olympus. There was a clear line of destruction heading toward the Throne Room and the sound of combat in the distance.
Running through the water spilling from a shattered fountain, Percy charged toward the sound of combat and the thrumming sensation of raw power.
Rounding a corner and running through the twisted and warped doors to the hall of thrones, Percy saw Polybotes battling against the fusion of Poseidon and Kronos. Trident clashed against scythe, blasts of poisons against waves of water. Miranda and Pollux were weaving in and out of the thrones as they attempted to capture or kill Polybotes' Empousai companion Serephone. Surging forward, Percy thrust his sword toward the small of Kronos' back, his blade getting caught in a rapidly frozen wave of water the Titan lord tossed back over their shoulder.
"What took you?!" Polybotes grunted, the two of them straining through Kronos' time field, the golden son of the sky having to strain to hold back both of them, especially with Othrys gone.
"Oh, you know." Percy narrowed his eyes, boiling the ice as he hurtled it at Kronos who's control over Poseidon's domains had become much more pronounced than it had been when they clashed the year before "Thought I'd give you a chance to win before I showed up. I knew you'd never stop whining if I 'stole your kill'." Polybotes growled out something Percy was positive was far from flattering as the boiling water Kronos was deflecting rapidly turned into poison which they seemed to lack the fine control to manipulate.
Surging forward as Kronos' attention wavered from the pain of the boiling toxins, Riptide cut a gash into the bastard's side. Golden ichor ran out onto the pristine white marble of Olympus.
"You'll pay for that, whelp!" Kronos bit out, eyes currently solid gold without a hint of Poseidon's sea green, "I will make sure you learn to obey."
"I know how to obey." Percy flicked the golden liquid from his blade as he fell into a stance beside Polybotes "But not you, never you." The golden eyes flickered an angry green for a split moment, letting him know Poseidon was just as displeased as Kronos was.
-Kronos-
Lashing out, Kronos swung his scythe toward Jackson, the son of his host rolling out of the way as the dual natured weapon carved a deep trench into the floor. With his other hand, Kronos thrust out with Poseidon's trident, the three pronged tool catching the tines of Polybotes' weapon with a boom like thunder.
"That again?" Kronos sneered at Polybotes, wanting the failed destroyer incensed and acting without thought. The giant child of Gaea was distinctly the larger threat over Jackson as even without the unique immortality blessing of its kind, they still had the power of a god.
Unfortunately for Polybotes he was far from his siblings level. They were meant to be counters to their Olympian rivals, yet Polybotes' power only extended to water. Poseidon had no control over the poisons that Polybotes could create, and Polybotes affinity for serpents could perhaps be considered a counter to Poseidon's with sea life and horses. But the titles of Storm Bringer and Earth Shaker went unopposed.
By Polybotes anyway.
A hurricane burst into being around Jackson as they lashed out, the lightning crackling harmlessly around Kronos' skin.
"You know, I expected more." Kronos chuckled amused "But I suppose that was naïve. Your powers are a mere offshoot of your father's, and his strength is mine now." And oh did it feel good to have one of his rebellious children swearing fealty to him, especially now that he knew that the only one that the prophecy he'd gotten so long ago referred to was Zeus.
"What father?" Percy sneered as Poseidon's rage spiked, "I have two mothers, but no father."
"You are as stubborn as Sally ever was." Poseidon's wrath brought the sea god back to control over their shared body "But the sea is eternal, I am eternal. And I will grind away your stubborn resistance just as the tide consumed the stone. It is inevitable, and I can be as patient as it takes."
'Enough monologuing!' Kronos snapped at his host, 'We are running out of time to shatter their thrones!' a deity drew power from their domain and their throne. The closer one was to their throne the more power they could draw upon. That meant that the closer Typhon and the Olympians were to New York, the stronger the Olympians would be and, eventually, they would be capable of simply opening a portal to send Typhon to Tartarus directly. Assuming the lord of monsters even survived the fall there was no telling how long it would take something like that to crawl back to the surface. He had to shatter the thrones of the Olympians to weaken them enough for Typhon to make them fade.
Poseidon's throne remained where it had been, the other gods unable to shatter it due to divine laws that bound the demigods as well.
The argument with his host, no matter how brief, had been enough to allow Jackson and Polybotes to strike back, their weapons carving through divine flesh with ease.
"YOU SWINE!" Kronos roared out, the earth shaking under them from his fury. He only barely heard the sharp whistle of a flying arrow over his shout, tilting his head as the Empousai's attack flew past him harmlessly. But just because it had failed didn't mean he could allow such sacrilege to go unpunished.
Whirling around, Kronos hurled Poseidon's trident and the little whore. To his shock though, it didn't strike the little monster Hecate had created long ago.
No, Polybotes was the one impaled, the giant moving between Kronos and the stupid whore that didn't know her place. The giant's trident fell from slackened fingers even as the Empousai tried and failed, to stem the flow of blood. The trident going into their chest and out their back could only have one result for Polybotes in the end, no matter how long Kronos' foolish little brother tried to hang on.
"This is rich!" Kronos allowed himself a moment to laugh, calling the trident back as it tore a massive gaping hole into Polybotes gut "I never thought you'd abandoned your senses as well as your pride when you betrayed us, but I supposed I shouldn't be surprised. What use has a dog have for thought?" his taunts were cut off by Jackson's fist slamming into his jaw with the force of an earthquake.
Eyes blazing gold with rage, he lashed out with his Scythe at the stupid brat Poseidon and Grace were so determined to claim. He only had a moment to realize where Jackson was before the demigod rolled away, Kronos' scythe slicing through a large chunk of Poseidon's throne.
He felt a massive chunk of power vanish like it was torn out from his with a hook, Kronos' mind clouding with rage. Forget the deal, forget what Grace wanted, this little shit had to pay! Flaring his control over time, Kronos swung up his scythe as the blade pierced through Jackson's stomach and out his back, the bastard's eyes widening as he failed to dodge in time.
"Lord Perseus!" the fanatical voice of Grace's minions shouted out before they abandoned their task to attack him.
"Traitors!" Kronos sneered, easily grabbing the daughter of Demeter's wrist and tearing the whole arm from her body. He ignored the raging of Poseidon from the back of his mind as he happily began to dismantle Grace's lapdogs. With Jackson and Polybotes both dealt with there was nothing else that could stop him from destroying the thrones before the gods arrived.
-Percy-
Coughing up blood, Percy felt the unnaturally cold blade that had impaled him. Kronos wasn't even sparing him a second thought now, the Titan of time relishing killing Pollux and Miranda with his bare hands.
'Perseus.' The voice of Polybotes filled his mind as he glanced over, seeing the bane of the sea starting to crumble apart 'Kronos…is distracted.' The giant's trident silent flew over to Percy's hands, pushing against his palm as he felt power that wasn't his own enter his body faster than the blood could leak out 'Go!' at the command, Polybotes crumbled to golden light and sand, but his trident remained.
Forcing himself to his feet, Percy's mechanical hands gripped the spear. His flesh was faltering but the divine metal remained resolute as he felt warmth at his back from the Brazier, warmth that felt like Aunt Hestia's embrace. Pushing all his power into his legs, Percy shot forward while Kronos was crushing a furious Pollux, Miranda's corpse cooling on the ground.
Whether it was overconfidence, distraction, or a million other possibilities, Percy's strike hit true. The trident of Polybotes, bane of the sea and incarnation of poison, rammed into the body of Poseidon. Gods are intrinsically tied to their domains, elemental deities even more so. Poseidon was seawater given form, even with Kronos residing within him. And now that watery body was being transformed into pure poison as Percy gripped the trident, his vision growing black even as he heard his enemy scream. He couldn't tell if it was Kronos or Poseidon anymore, but the world around him shook as he twisted the trident. If he was dying here, he was taking them with him!
AN: This story only has a few chapters left. It's been a long, crazy, journey with this piece. It's one of my oldest fics and my writing style has changed so many times throughout it. Honesty, I'm not even sure if it's a story I'd have thought of writing as I am now. So thank you all for being with me throughout this journey and let's hit those last few chapters!