Camp Half Blood | May 2005
Luke was pleased to see that camp was still camp when he arrived. Chiron wasn't around, but Annabeth was quick to inform Luke that he and Grover had been gone most of the year on some important business. She didn't have to say it (she did anyway), but they both knew what both Chiron and Grover being away meant. They were going to bring back a new demigod. An important one from the sounds of it. Of course Annabeth went straight to thoughts of the prophecy Chiron had heard about, while Luke realized that this was the thing Kronos had him waiting for for months.
It became obvious that these two things were probably one in the same, which was not good considering Luke already knew that the kid Annabeth was waiting for was a child of the Big Three. Since it was a school Chiron was scoping out and not the Lotus Hotel, Luke knew there was only one option over who it could be. Still, Luke remained in denial like a pro. Until Kronos popped into his head a few nights later and confirmed what Luke had already suspected.
Well, shit.
To be honest, the first thing Luke asked about was the quest for finding a suitable way to get Kronos on this physical plane. For one, he was nervous to ask about what he really wanted to know. For two, this whole dream talking thing was annoying and creepy.
"It's none of your concern," Kronos answered, crushing Luke's dreams of, well, not having Kronos in his dreams. "You know my reforming depends on getting loyalty from demigods such as yourself. You need to learn patience."
Luke didn't do well with patience.
"Zeus has ordered that the bolt be returned to Olympus by the solstice otherwise he will start war with Poseidon. Now, if the theft had gone as planned the bolt and helm would be safely with me and we wouldn't have to worry about it getting back to Zeus--" If Kronos had eyes Luke would guess he'd be glaring right now. "--Lucky for you I've managed to come up with a way to place get the bolt and helm to Tartarus. I will require your assistance in this matter."
Luke definitely was not liking the sound of that. Despite that, his voice sounded steady and confident when replying to his master. "How can I serve you, sir?"
"A child will be arriving at your camp very soon. I believe he is the one mentioned in the Great Prophecy. The child of one of the three eldest gods," Kronos said. "Specifically a son of Poseidon."
It felt like Luke's heart sunk into his stomach or something. If he was honest with himself, he would admit that some part of him knew Percy was involved in all of this. Children of the Big Three didn't just sit by the sidelines when something big was going on. Luke had no idea how he managed to keep a straight face when it felt like he was going to cry and throw up at the same time.
"Luke?" If Kronos was the type to sigh, he would have. Demigods and their poor attention spans.
Luke snapped out of his line of thought. "What do you need me to do?"
"Once the boy is claimed by Poseidon, Zeus and Hades will naturally think he is responsible for the theft. You need to force Chiron to think camp isn't safe for the boy and that Hades wants him dead. I don't care how you do it, just get it done," Kronos said firmly. "Once he's away from camp, Ares will plant the bolt and helm on him, send him to the Underworld and then the mistake you made months ago will finally be fixed."
Luke hated to think that this could have been avoided if he hadn't been an idiot and let Ares get the bolt and helm. He hated that he had to have a hand in framing a kid for something he did. And, most of all, he hated that it was some version of Percy he had to do it to.
It occurred to him that Percy had known about this. Luke thought about when he and Percy had first met and Percy had pulled a sword on him. He remembered how angry the other boy was at him for reasons Luke didn't understand at the time and how long it took for them to finally trust each other. It wasn't like Luke had completely forgotten about that, it was always there in the back of his mind, but he deluded himself into thinking that it didn't matter.
It did matter though. Percy had known Luke was going to have to do this and he still decided to be his friend and more, not thinking, or just flat out not caring about future consequences. Luke had been lying to Percy for months but now it turned out that Percy had been lying to him even longer than that. Luke was already thinking about what that meant in terms of their relationship, whether it had meant as much as he thought it had. For all he knew he could have been some sort of practice exercise or therapy session for Percy's issues. After a few moments Luke realized Nico probably knew all along too. It would explain why he had been so compliant about keeping this Kronos thing quiet in the first place. He had probably been expecting it.
Luke knew it was stupid to feel betrayed in light of everything he had been doing, but he did. He felt betrayed and stupid and, most of all, angry. Angry with himself, Nico and Percy.
But he did have to do this, as much as he didn't want to. There wasn't any other choice. You just didn't say no to Kronos.
"I will do as my master asks of me," Luke said quietly after few long moments. "Thank you, sir, I won't let you down."
It's not like he had a choice.
[And so it begins. NFB, NFI but OOC is fine]
It became obvious that these two things were probably one in the same, which was not good considering Luke already knew that the kid Annabeth was waiting for was a child of the Big Three. Since it was a school Chiron was scoping out and not the Lotus Hotel, Luke knew there was only one option over who it could be. Still, Luke remained in denial like a pro. Until Kronos popped into his head a few nights later and confirmed what Luke had already suspected.
Well, shit.
To be honest, the first thing Luke asked about was the quest for finding a suitable way to get Kronos on this physical plane. For one, he was nervous to ask about what he really wanted to know. For two, this whole dream talking thing was annoying and creepy.
"It's none of your concern," Kronos answered, crushing Luke's dreams of, well, not having Kronos in his dreams. "You know my reforming depends on getting loyalty from demigods such as yourself. You need to learn patience."
Luke didn't do well with patience.
"Zeus has ordered that the bolt be returned to Olympus by the solstice otherwise he will start war with Poseidon. Now, if the theft had gone as planned the bolt and helm would be safely with me and we wouldn't have to worry about it getting back to Zeus--" If Kronos had eyes Luke would guess he'd be glaring right now. "--Lucky for you I've managed to come up with a way to place get the bolt and helm to Tartarus. I will require your assistance in this matter."
Luke definitely was not liking the sound of that. Despite that, his voice sounded steady and confident when replying to his master. "How can I serve you, sir?"
"A child will be arriving at your camp very soon. I believe he is the one mentioned in the Great Prophecy. The child of one of the three eldest gods," Kronos said. "Specifically a son of Poseidon."
It felt like Luke's heart sunk into his stomach or something. If he was honest with himself, he would admit that some part of him knew Percy was involved in all of this. Children of the Big Three didn't just sit by the sidelines when something big was going on. Luke had no idea how he managed to keep a straight face when it felt like he was going to cry and throw up at the same time.
"Luke?" If Kronos was the type to sigh, he would have. Demigods and their poor attention spans.
Luke snapped out of his line of thought. "What do you need me to do?"
"Once the boy is claimed by Poseidon, Zeus and Hades will naturally think he is responsible for the theft. You need to force Chiron to think camp isn't safe for the boy and that Hades wants him dead. I don't care how you do it, just get it done," Kronos said firmly. "Once he's away from camp, Ares will plant the bolt and helm on him, send him to the Underworld and then the mistake you made months ago will finally be fixed."
Luke hated to think that this could have been avoided if he hadn't been an idiot and let Ares get the bolt and helm. He hated that he had to have a hand in framing a kid for something he did. And, most of all, he hated that it was some version of Percy he had to do it to.
It occurred to him that Percy had known about this. Luke thought about when he and Percy had first met and Percy had pulled a sword on him. He remembered how angry the other boy was at him for reasons Luke didn't understand at the time and how long it took for them to finally trust each other. It wasn't like Luke had completely forgotten about that, it was always there in the back of his mind, but he deluded himself into thinking that it didn't matter.
It did matter though. Percy had known Luke was going to have to do this and he still decided to be his friend and more, not thinking, or just flat out not caring about future consequences. Luke had been lying to Percy for months but now it turned out that Percy had been lying to him even longer than that. Luke was already thinking about what that meant in terms of their relationship, whether it had meant as much as he thought it had. For all he knew he could have been some sort of practice exercise or therapy session for Percy's issues. After a few moments Luke realized Nico probably knew all along too. It would explain why he had been so compliant about keeping this Kronos thing quiet in the first place. He had probably been expecting it.
Luke knew it was stupid to feel betrayed in light of everything he had been doing, but he did. He felt betrayed and stupid and, most of all, angry. Angry with himself, Nico and Percy.
But he did have to do this, as much as he didn't want to. There wasn't any other choice. You just didn't say no to Kronos.
"I will do as my master asks of me," Luke said quietly after few long moments. "Thank you, sir, I won't let you down."
It's not like he had a choice.
[And so it begins. NFB, NFI but OOC is fine]