The Princess Andromeda | August 2009
Time flew by when you were trying to take over the world. Or, well, it did if you were Kronos. It had only been a year since Luke lost control of himself but for him it felt like an eternity. He was almost glad that the war was finally entering what looked to be its final stages because he could use the entertainment.
It was nearing the end too. The rest of the Titans had been unleashed and the gods were putting all their focus on getting the likes of Typhon and Hyperion locked back in their cages, leaving New York City and Mount Olympus completely defenseless. The Princess Andromeda was speeding towards the city, with a good chunk of Kronos's army in tow.
There was, of course, one thing consistently standing in his way.
"Uh. Sir?" A demigod nervously addressed Kronos. "You said to warn you when Percy Jackson was on board...well...he is."
Kronos nodded, unsurprised. He would have been disappointed if he met no resistance as he tried to get to New York. "Get everyone into position. He will be here soon."
He was situated on the main deck. If Percy wanted to get anywhere, he'd have to go across the it. The balcony gave the Titan a good view of the entire deck and of Percy when he did make his entrance. Kronos's face remained impassive even though he felt Luke's stomach lurch.
None of that, Castellan, Kronos thought before addressing Percy out loud. "You're late, Percy. We've been expecting you for days. Come, bow before me."
Percy rolled his eyes. "Like that'll happen."
Kronos lifted his hand as a signal and the main deck started to flood with bits of his army. Demigods, Laistrygonian giants and Hellhounds soon had Percy surrounded. Kronos didn't know why Percy looked so shocked; it seemed like a pretty obvious trap.
Kronos smiled and jumped down from the balcony, landing lightly on his feet. The scythe that used to be Backbiter appeared in his hand and he used it to gesture to Percy. "Come forward."
The monsters cleared a path to make room for Percy as he walked towards Kronos. He uncapped Riptide and Kronos watched as it turned into a sword. Even he was impressed with the fact that Percy was gonna try to fight him. Too bad he was gonna lose.
Percy attacked first, trying to charge at Kronos but the Titan threw out his hand and slowed down time. He smiled as he watched Percy move in slow motion and was blatantly ignoring the fact that Luke was calling him a cheater.
Suddenly the ship lurched sideways. Monsters were thrown off their feet as thousands of gallons of water washed up on deck, dousing everyone. Luke panicked immediately, his old fear of water getting to him, but Kronos managed to keep their shared body on its feet.
Well there was a stark reminder that he was dealing with a son of Poseidon.
Kronos was so focused on trying to get Luke to calm down that he almost didn't see it when Percy tried to strike him. Kronos dodged the strike and swung the scythe down. Percy jumped out of the way, and the scythe ended up slicing out a bit of the deck itself.
There was barely a moment's pause before Kronos struck again. Percy used Riptide to deflect the blade some, but he was too slow to completely avoid getting hit. Percy shouted as the scythe grazed his arm. It was just a small cut but it was no ordinary blade he was being sliced open with. Kronos's scythe had the ability to sever someone's soul from their body and Luke imagined it would feel like your body was being ripped apart. Luke could see that Percy was feeling it even though he tried to keep a brave face.
Percy stumbled back and switched Riptide to his left hand and lunged desperately at Kronos. He managed to hit Kronos in the stomach, but the blade bounced off easily thanks to Luke's dip in the Styx.
Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke told me you were never his match in swordplay."
Luke wished he could clarify that he never said that. Kronos had just...rightly inferred it.
"Luke had a big head," Percy said weakly. "But at least it was his head."
"A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, ignoring the insult against Luke's ego. "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus."
Percy glared, though it seemed halfhearted since he had to have been in an immense amount of pain. "You'll never get this boat to Manhattan."
"Any why would that be?" Kronos asked. "Perhaps you are counting on your little friend with the explosives?"
Ethan Nakamura pushed his way through the crowd, dragging another demigod into view. Luke recognized him as Charlie Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus. They had been pretty good friends before...well, before this. Luke was sad to see that he was probably going to end up dead.
"Success, my lord," Ethan said. "We found him just as you said."
Kronos seemed to be a bit more focused on the fact that Charlie and Percy seemed to be having some non-verbal communication than on anything Ethan was saying. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"
"He was going toward the engine room, my lord."
Kronos lifted an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"
"Um..." Ethan hesitated. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. And his bag was still full of explosives."
"Open the bag," Kronos ordered.
Ethan took the bag he gotten from Charlie off his shoulder and ripped it open. Instead of jars of Greek fire or explosives there were...canned peaches.
Kronos clenched his hands into a fist so tight that Luke was sure that if he wasn't invincible his palms would be bleeding. "Did you, perhaps, capture this demigod near the galley?"
Ethan took a couple steps back. "Um..."
"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?!"
Ethan and several monsters jumped back at Kronos's outburst. His anger only lasted a minute, though. Soon he was turning back towards Percy with a tight smile plastered on his face. "You'll have to excuse the incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks."
Kronos lifted up his wrist and showed off the charm bracelet Luke had been using to contact Silena for years now. It looked weird that someone like Kronos (and Luke for that matter) was wearing a charm bracelet but, hey, it worked.
"Communication device..." Percy muttered. "The spy at camp."
"You can't count on friends," Kronos said with a nod. "They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies."
There wasn't even a second for Percy to contemplate Kronos's offer. Charlie broke free of Ethan's grip and slammed his hand on his watch, which Kronos realized must've been the detonator for the bombs. Percy hurled Riptide towards Luke's chest before making a run for it. The sword bounced off but it startled Kronos enough to keep him from preventing Percy's escape.
Before Kronos could even attempt to run for an exit, the ship exploded.
Luckily for both Luke and Ethan Nakamura, Kronos could keep a cool head in a tight spot. The explosion Luke could deal with, it was being trapped underwater while an entire ship was going down around him that was the issue that had him freaking out. Kronos at least put Luke's ability to swim to good use and managed to pull Nakamura along when he found him clinging to a piece of the ship.
When they finally made it to shore Kronos was finally understanding what Luke hated so much about sharing a head with somebody else.
"We're out of the water now, you baby, quit your whining," Kronos muttered, tossing Nakamura in the sand. "And you best hope Nakamura doesn't need CPR because I will be leaving you to do that."
Thankfully Ethan chose that moment to cough up some water and start breathing. At least that was a silver lining.
"On your feet, Nakamura. This changes nothing. We attack Manhattan as soon as Morpheus does his part. Jackson is sorely mistaken if the thinks he has taken out my army with this little stunt," Kronos said. "And get to finding me a cellular phone. You're being demoted."
If Ethan was confused by the orders, he didn't voice it. Instead he shakily pulled himself off the ground and shuffled off into the woods. Luke guessed he needed a few moments to himself to get over the fact that he had almost been blown up.
"Do we really need to bring Nico into this?" Luke asked.
"It's your own fault for getting him involved in the first place. Should have listened to that fool Apollo when you had the chance," Kronos said, quietly just in case Ethan was lurking around. No need for him to see his boss talking to himself. As far as anyone else knew, Luke was long dead.
That wasn't the case at the moment, but Kronos was planning to change that soon enough.
[Some of this was taken from The Last Olympian and some of it wasn't. NFB, NFI but OOC is fine. Last week of putting up with this stuff, I swear]
It was nearing the end too. The rest of the Titans had been unleashed and the gods were putting all their focus on getting the likes of Typhon and Hyperion locked back in their cages, leaving New York City and Mount Olympus completely defenseless. The Princess Andromeda was speeding towards the city, with a good chunk of Kronos's army in tow.
There was, of course, one thing consistently standing in his way.
"Uh. Sir?" A demigod nervously addressed Kronos. "You said to warn you when Percy Jackson was on board...well...he is."
Kronos nodded, unsurprised. He would have been disappointed if he met no resistance as he tried to get to New York. "Get everyone into position. He will be here soon."
He was situated on the main deck. If Percy wanted to get anywhere, he'd have to go across the it. The balcony gave the Titan a good view of the entire deck and of Percy when he did make his entrance. Kronos's face remained impassive even though he felt Luke's stomach lurch.
None of that, Castellan, Kronos thought before addressing Percy out loud. "You're late, Percy. We've been expecting you for days. Come, bow before me."
Percy rolled his eyes. "Like that'll happen."
Kronos lifted his hand as a signal and the main deck started to flood with bits of his army. Demigods, Laistrygonian giants and Hellhounds soon had Percy surrounded. Kronos didn't know why Percy looked so shocked; it seemed like a pretty obvious trap.
Kronos smiled and jumped down from the balcony, landing lightly on his feet. The scythe that used to be Backbiter appeared in his hand and he used it to gesture to Percy. "Come forward."
The monsters cleared a path to make room for Percy as he walked towards Kronos. He uncapped Riptide and Kronos watched as it turned into a sword. Even he was impressed with the fact that Percy was gonna try to fight him. Too bad he was gonna lose.
Percy attacked first, trying to charge at Kronos but the Titan threw out his hand and slowed down time. He smiled as he watched Percy move in slow motion and was blatantly ignoring the fact that Luke was calling him a cheater.
Suddenly the ship lurched sideways. Monsters were thrown off their feet as thousands of gallons of water washed up on deck, dousing everyone. Luke panicked immediately, his old fear of water getting to him, but Kronos managed to keep their shared body on its feet.
Well there was a stark reminder that he was dealing with a son of Poseidon.
Kronos was so focused on trying to get Luke to calm down that he almost didn't see it when Percy tried to strike him. Kronos dodged the strike and swung the scythe down. Percy jumped out of the way, and the scythe ended up slicing out a bit of the deck itself.
There was barely a moment's pause before Kronos struck again. Percy used Riptide to deflect the blade some, but he was too slow to completely avoid getting hit. Percy shouted as the scythe grazed his arm. It was just a small cut but it was no ordinary blade he was being sliced open with. Kronos's scythe had the ability to sever someone's soul from their body and Luke imagined it would feel like your body was being ripped apart. Luke could see that Percy was feeling it even though he tried to keep a brave face.
Percy stumbled back and switched Riptide to his left hand and lunged desperately at Kronos. He managed to hit Kronos in the stomach, but the blade bounced off easily thanks to Luke's dip in the Styx.
Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke told me you were never his match in swordplay."
Luke wished he could clarify that he never said that. Kronos had just...rightly inferred it.
"Luke had a big head," Percy said weakly. "But at least it was his head."
"A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, ignoring the insult against Luke's ego. "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus."
Percy glared, though it seemed halfhearted since he had to have been in an immense amount of pain. "You'll never get this boat to Manhattan."
"Any why would that be?" Kronos asked. "Perhaps you are counting on your little friend with the explosives?"
Ethan Nakamura pushed his way through the crowd, dragging another demigod into view. Luke recognized him as Charlie Beckendorf, a son of Hephaestus. They had been pretty good friends before...well, before this. Luke was sad to see that he was probably going to end up dead.
"Success, my lord," Ethan said. "We found him just as you said."
Kronos seemed to be a bit more focused on the fact that Charlie and Percy seemed to be having some non-verbal communication than on anything Ethan was saying. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"
"He was going toward the engine room, my lord."
Kronos lifted an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"
"Um..." Ethan hesitated. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. And his bag was still full of explosives."
"Open the bag," Kronos ordered.
Ethan took the bag he gotten from Charlie off his shoulder and ripped it open. Instead of jars of Greek fire or explosives there were...canned peaches.
Kronos clenched his hands into a fist so tight that Luke was sure that if he wasn't invincible his palms would be bleeding. "Did you, perhaps, capture this demigod near the galley?"
Ethan took a couple steps back. "Um..."
"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?!"
Ethan and several monsters jumped back at Kronos's outburst. His anger only lasted a minute, though. Soon he was turning back towards Percy with a tight smile plastered on his face. "You'll have to excuse the incompetent help, Percy Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks."
Kronos lifted up his wrist and showed off the charm bracelet Luke had been using to contact Silena for years now. It looked weird that someone like Kronos (and Luke for that matter) was wearing a charm bracelet but, hey, it worked.
"Communication device..." Percy muttered. "The spy at camp."
"You can't count on friends," Kronos said with a nod. "They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies."
There wasn't even a second for Percy to contemplate Kronos's offer. Charlie broke free of Ethan's grip and slammed his hand on his watch, which Kronos realized must've been the detonator for the bombs. Percy hurled Riptide towards Luke's chest before making a run for it. The sword bounced off but it startled Kronos enough to keep him from preventing Percy's escape.
Before Kronos could even attempt to run for an exit, the ship exploded.
Luckily for both Luke and Ethan Nakamura, Kronos could keep a cool head in a tight spot. The explosion Luke could deal with, it was being trapped underwater while an entire ship was going down around him that was the issue that had him freaking out. Kronos at least put Luke's ability to swim to good use and managed to pull Nakamura along when he found him clinging to a piece of the ship.
When they finally made it to shore Kronos was finally understanding what Luke hated so much about sharing a head with somebody else.
"We're out of the water now, you baby, quit your whining," Kronos muttered, tossing Nakamura in the sand. "And you best hope Nakamura doesn't need CPR because I will be leaving you to do that."
Thankfully Ethan chose that moment to cough up some water and start breathing. At least that was a silver lining.
"On your feet, Nakamura. This changes nothing. We attack Manhattan as soon as Morpheus does his part. Jackson is sorely mistaken if the thinks he has taken out my army with this little stunt," Kronos said. "And get to finding me a cellular phone. You're being demoted."
If Ethan was confused by the orders, he didn't voice it. Instead he shakily pulled himself off the ground and shuffled off into the woods. Luke guessed he needed a few moments to himself to get over the fact that he had almost been blown up.
"Do we really need to bring Nico into this?" Luke asked.
"It's your own fault for getting him involved in the first place. Should have listened to that fool Apollo when you had the chance," Kronos said, quietly just in case Ethan was lurking around. No need for him to see his boss talking to himself. As far as anyone else knew, Luke was long dead.
That wasn't the case at the moment, but Kronos was planning to change that soon enough.
[Some of this was taken from The Last Olympian and some of it wasn't. NFB, NFI but OOC is fine. Last week of putting up with this stuff, I swear]