Chapter 19: Reading Fallen
*time skip – five months*
"Wow that went really fast, I can't believe the gods are making us listen to this book, and we all have ADHD and all that other things that they shouldn't have us sitting for hours on end." Leo murmured and stretched out on the floor, he held a book in hand and groaned as he saw it was still very thick.
"Come on, Percy," Darren grumbled, "we're gonna be late for breakfast if you don't get up!"
"Five more minutes," Percy murmured into his pillow.
"Boys are so lazy! I mean morning starts at the time Apollo begins to break through the skies!" Demeter exclaimed and threw her hands into the air in a "What can you do about it" maner.
"Well not everyone needs to be up in an ungodly hour!" Nico Di Angelo growled out and many of the titans gods and demigods all nodded their heads in support.
"Under the sea you can't tell when it is day or night, it's too dark, that is why we have Pearl Lights," Poseidon put in his two cent worth.
"GUYS LET ME READ!" Leo yelled and withered under the glares he got.
Darren glared at Percy from across the room. "Hey, isn't the cabin counsellor supposed to be the one getting the cabin up, not the other way around?"
Percy turned his head to glare at his half-brother. "Hey, I've still got a headache. Shut up."
Darren grinned. "It's the gods' revenge for your harsh training sessions."
"Your faults for agreeing," Percy yawned. "Oh gods, it feels so good to have a bed again."
"Yeah, you've been saying that for the past five months," Darren said as he rolled his eyes. "And I don't think Mr. D's gonna be pleased with you if you miss breakfast again."
"Well beds are amazing after being in Tartarus for so long," Kronos grinned, it made many of them shiver at the sharp grin the Titan King gave.
"Shut up. I have a headache."
Darren frowned. "Still? It hasn't gone away?"
Percy shook his head and rolled over to glare at the ceiling. "It feels like someone's hitting me in the head with a hammer. Actually, I'd prefer the hammer."
"I am sure Leo and the hephaestus children won't mind hitting Percy with a hammer!" Ares said and put together the gun he held in his hands. "If not, me and my children will!"" He boomed.
Darren rolled his eyes. "Come on, just get up. We'll talk to Chiron and Mr. D about it at breakfast."
Percy grumbled, but stood up and quickly got dressed. He stretched as he strode out the cabin with Darren following him and made his way to the dining pavilion. Demigods greeted the two sons of Poseidon as they went past, and the day was already in full swing.
"It's strange reading about our lives, even though it hasn't happened yet," Darren mused and glanced around receiving nods from many.
Glancing at the shadowy figure beside Kronos he let out a sigh, he had a feeling about him: it was family, and familiar but he wasn't sure why. Shaking his head Darren didn't notice the golden eyes on him.
In the dining pavilion the immortal campers were mostly sitting at the Poseidon table, which had originally annoyed Percy, but now he was used to it. Percy slid into his customary seat at the end of the table with Darren and Annabeth opposite him, and he quickly started on the maple syrup covered pancakes as Annabeth asked his half-brother how he'd been during the night, like she'd been doing for the last five months.
"You're drowning them," Nico complained from beside Percy.
Percy just grinned. "I'm a kid of Poseidon, I can't drown, and neither can my pancakes."
"No, they just get soggy and taste disgusting to most," Annabeth said and shuddered, Percy had once told her to try his food and had laughed when she had swallowed it and then had promptly thrown it up again.
"Okay, sometimes your logic doesn't make any sense to me," Nico frowned.
Percy shrugged and touched the side of his head. "It's my insanity," he smirked.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure your insanity is when you start muttering to yourself," Leo said helpfully.
Percy scowled at him. "No, that happens when you start annoying me. Like now, actually."
"Bipolar much," Athena muttered.
Leo rolled his eyes, and Percy grinned. "You all ready for today?"
Jason groaned. "As long as I can still feel my limbs after it."
Percy sighed. "Hey, you all agreed, and at least you can beat me together now."
"Yeah," Clarisse nodded, "but you still pulverise us if it's one-on-one."
Percy snorted as he turned back to his pancakes. "Your point?"
"You're an idiot," Thalia smirked from next to Annabeth.
"That idiot survived Tartarus against all odds for 2 thousand years," Iapetus argued with a growl, "show respect where it's earned!"
Percy scowled at her, opening his mouth to speak, but stopping when it felt like someone had swung a warhammer at the side of his head. He flinched and touched the side of his head. "Percy?" Darren asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"
Percy grimaced, prodding the area where it hurt, but it didn't get worse. "Did anyone else feel that?" He asked with slight fear.
"Feel what?" Nico asked.
"Like someone's hitting me in the head," Percy muttered, and the ground suddenly shook beneath them. The tables in the dining pavilion shifted, and cups and plates fell onto the floor from the force of the shake.
"It's obvious once you think rationally, an earthquake, you don't need Athena or her decedents to point out the obvious," Poseidon muttered.
"SAVAGE!" Hermes whooped and laughed alongside his brother.
"What's happening?" Clarisse demanded as she shot to her feet.
"Earthquake," Annabeth breathed, her eyes widening.
Percy scrambled to his feet, still clutching his head as the sounds of monsters screeching filled the air. "Everyone remain calm!" Chiron shouted to be heard over the yells from the demigods.
"Did it even work? When you yell out to do something and they still do the opposite?" Will asked and looked to Chiron who shook his head.
"Percy?" Nico exclaimed as Percy fell to one knee, the pounding in his head doubling. "Are you alright?"
Percy groaned, his vision blurring as the rumbling continued, and he lurched to his feet, making his way to Chiron and Dionysus. The pavilion filled with flashes of light as the gods flashed down from Olympus, all of them looking worried. Percy took a deep breath and struggled up to the table where Chiron and Mr. D usually sat. He leaned on the table. "It's coming from Tartarus," he said, his voice sounding like it was coming through a long tunnel.
"Percy, are you alright?" Poseidon asked, unknowingly repeating exactly what Nico had said.
"Iris-Message Tartarus," Percy croaked as he slid down, sitting on the stone floor.
There was a few beats of silence, and then he heard Zeus say, "Iris, show me Tartarus."
From speaking those words an image of Tartarus appeared. It was dark and flaky looking, it made many people shudder because of what it represented and what it was. Many monsters were down there, Titans, and the worst punishment ever where there. Hades himself rarely traveled to that place! It was revolting to many.
Percy blinked to make his vision clear again, and he watched as a screen of Tartarus appeared above the open-topped pavilion so all the demigods could see what was going on. Tartarus was falling apart. The Pit shook and rumbled, as large rocks and dust fell from the cavern roof.
"Show us the Primordial Tartarus," Percy said loudly, and the screen seemed to dive down through the Pit, coming to a large castle which was surrounded by an army. The screen shot through the lumps of rock which Percy knew used to be the doors and down a massive corridor, over hundreds of monsters fighting each other, and into the throne room.
There were two thrones at the end, and one being impaled through the chest with what would be a wooden shaft, if not for the golden crescent shaped blade on the top. Percy sucked in a breath as he saw the weapon – or, more specifically, the scythe – which the Primordial of the Pit was impaled on. Percy felt tears sting his eyes, as he saw his adopted father. The immortal's eyes were shut tight with pain as ichor pooled beneath him, streaking down the shaft of the scythe and bubbling out of his mouth.
Percy slowly stood up as he narrowed his eyes at the being that most definitely shouldn't be lounging in Tartarus' throne. "What have you done?" He hissed angrily.
"Hiss sounds so weird, but I get how you speak like that, you prolong the 'S' and it's hiss like. Right!?" Jason asked and glanced together who scowled.
"Something like that," she muttered.
Kronos raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Is that how you greet your King, grandson?"
Percy's jaw clenched. "Rot in the Void, bastard," he growled.
Kronos smirked. "It's good to see you've recovered your defiance. It'll be fun to remove it again."
Percy's hands fisted at his side. "Don't you know what killing Tartarus will do?" He demanded.
"The same as what killing my father did, I would presume" Kronos said in amusement. "The Primordials aren't needed, and he was in the way. It was a simple solution. There's no need to get so wound up over it."
"Wound up?" Percy repeatedly angrily. "He was… he saved my life so many times!"
"Rules of hostage... never give information out freely!" Ares snarled slamming the but of his spear on the ground.
Kronos cocked his head to the side. "Did he?" He asked, his eyes gleaming in satisfaction. "I didn't know. If I did I would have slaughtered him sooner." Percy roared in anger and the room around Kronos start collapsing, but the Titan merely lifted a finger. "If you think I'd allow myself to be buried under my own structure again you're sorely mistaken, grandson."
"Stop calling me that!" Percy shouted furiously. "I swear to you, Kronos, that you will pay for killing Tartarus!"
"No plans anymore I hope?" Kronos asked his voice holding a smug satisfaction tone in it.
"Smug bastard," Percy said and grinned to show he was joking.
Kronos chuckled. "I look forward to it," he said wryly before his attention was taken by the Primordial in front of him.
Tartarus coughed and his eyes opened, the black orbs glowing angrily as he glared at Kronos. "If I'd known you'd turn out like this, you'd have died as a child, Titan."
Kronos chuckled and stood up. "Good to see you too, uncle," he smirked, and quickly closing the distance between them he wrapped one hand around the shaft of his scythe and sharply jerked it to the side, Tartarus hissing in pain as his legs collapsed beneath him and he slid down the shaft to land with a heavy thud on the floor. Kronos calmly pulled his scythe out of the Primordial's chest, ignoring the slickness of the shaft as he gripped it in two hands.
"NO!" Percy screamed in anger, hatred and fear as he watched Kronos bring the scythe up.
Percy shuddered now, he remembered what Tartarus was willing to go through, the lengths he was willing to go to, the sacrifice wasn't as big as the prize was. Casualties of war… were sometimes better.
"Cut the message off!" Annabeth yelled as she realised what Kronos was doing, and Athena cursed.
"Father, cut it off!" The goddess of wisdom shouted, but Zeus was too slow, and Percy watched with wide eyes as Kronos cut straight through the Primordial's neck.
Percy was left staring up at the sky, his emotions running wild and alternating between complete despair, anger and frustration. Then Nico, Clarisse, Darren and Annabeth were there and trying to comfort him as he fell to his knees. "Calm down, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth murmured, "it's alright, okay? He'll reform eventually."
"He won't," Percy croaked. "He's gone like Ouranos is now."
"I didn't know killing him was this bad effect," Kronos said to Percy who sat with their legs touching, hiding it in plain sight.
"He held my sanity," Percy explained vocally.
"You still have Poseidon, Perce," Nico said desperately. "Come on, this is what King wants, and you know it."
"He killed him," Percy mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself. "He killed him. I watched, and he killed him."
"Please, Percy," Darren pleaded, "calm down. It'll be alright."
"We should get him to the Big House," Clarisse said. "Let him calm down there, because the Campers are starting to stare."
Annabeth glanced up and nodded before taking one of Percy's arms and gently guiding him to his feet, Nico doing the same on his other side. Together the four demigods managed to get Percy out of the pavilion and away from the staring campers, and all the while Percy muttered under his breath – curses directed at the Titans, and prayers to various gods.
"Why did Perseus react like that?" Zeus demanded as soon as all the gods and demigods that went on the quest (along with Darren) were in the Rec room.
"Gods, gods can be nosy!" Percy sighed and put on the glamour so he could take the insufferable hood off his face.
The demigods all turned to Nico, who glared at them. "Why me?"
"Yeah, let's all pick on the goth and loner," Nico muttered and took his leather jacket off.
Smiling Will took his hand and kissed the palm, "I won't pick on you," he grinned.
"Because you're the one who talked to Iapetus," Thalia reasoned.
Nico grumbled under his breath and sighed. "Alright, so down in Tartarus Percy asked Iapetus why Kro – King had done it. He said that King suspected that Tartarus had adopted Percy, and that was why he'd captured and taken him – to find out if it was real. If Tartarus sent a quest down to save Percy, then King would know the truth, and he did. So, basically, Tartarus is Percy's adoptive father, and King just killed him in front of Percy."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Poseidon asked, looking very irritated.
Clarisse shrugged. "Prissy asked us not to," she said as she glanced at the demigod sitting on one of the couches in the room.
Athena sighed. "Don't you realise how important that information would have been?"
"Yeah," Nico nodded, "but it's in the past now. There's no point going over it repeatedly."
"Nico's right," Poseidon nodded. "We need to figure out how long we've got left – before the Titans come."
"Nice to hear strategy from demigod," Atlas spoke from his standing position besides Kronos.
No one said anything, as they realized that this was going to be read, full brunt truth, no lies or anything.
There was silence for several minutes, and then Apollo snorted. "Well this is impossible."
"It'll take at least a year and a quarter for their army to reform," Percy's voice cut in, and all of the gods and demigods turned to look at him. "And then a few weeks – a few months at most – for then to march to Olympus."
"Good predictability," Hyperion grinned nasty grin, "but we've already got agents everywhere," he bowed his head and ignored the glared he got from his brothers.
Athena nodded slowly. "Alright, we'll work with that. Dionysus, you need to cut out all non-war preparing activities for the campers. We've got to be prepared for this."
Percy took a breath and shakily stood up. "I can lead an activity where they learn about the strengths and weaknesses of certain Titans, and continue my current one with the immortal campers."
Zeus nodded. "Chiron will fit some time in the schedules for that, Perseus, but in the meanwhile, you need to rest. We can talk more about this tomorrow if we need to."
Percy nodded slightly. "Okay," he mumbled, with only one thought running through his head as he left the Big House – destroy the Titans.
"Feeling the love," Kronos murmured and ran his hand down his lovers arm and grinned at the glare he got.
"Well I wasn't on your side yet" Percy snarled.
"Savage"