Kronos (Book Two)

Missing Pieces

April 9th; 6am Gaia

Taki's alarm goes off. He finds himself able to move around better. The sun is rising through his window, but he knows Artemis is worried about Apollo. He's worried about him too. He picks up his blades just in case Zeus attacks them.

Perseus, Heracles, and Orpheus are waiting outside his door with their respective weapons ready to train. They come outside to see Artemis laying against a column. Dried, puffy cheeks with almost lifeless eyes.

The demigods go to check on her, but she waves them off as she doesn't want to lash out at them. They give her space for now.

They also notice Cadmus is awake, in his dragon form, comforting a restless Harmonia. He has a wing wrapped around her as she doesn't want to get off of him. She's afraid that she will lose him too.


Takashi gently walks up to her. "Harmonia, I'm here for you when you want to talk."

Part of him feels guilty for not doing enough the other day, but he won't let things end that way.

"I will bring them all back. Zeus won't get the last word."

She finally looks at him. His confident words remind her of her father. He displays some aura that makes her want to cry. Her mother's love is radiating from within him. She embraces him. He doesn't let go so she can have this moment. She sobs onto his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I'm ruining your shirt."

She goes to push him off, but he keeps her in place. "It's alright. When we're done, we are going to be crying happily."

"I know, but it's best that I stay away from you all."

He raises his eyebrows. His eyes asked her what she meant. She explains that Hephaestus gave her a cursed necklace as a wedding gift that would bring misfortune to the wearer and those around her. Despite his death, the enchanted necklace is still active and can't be taken off.

"That's why I'm not around others. It's my fault that my father-

Takashi holds her by the shoulders. "It's not your fault. There has to be a way to remove it. If Hephaestus made it....What if we destroy his forge? Would that undo it?"

Cadmus sadly shakes his head. "The curse would still be active."

Taki has an idea, but he grimaces. "Then.....I have no choice but to bring Hephaestus back. But, I will make him remove that necklace as his first act. He won't get the last word, Harmonia. I promise you."

"We all will live happy lives", Percy adds on.


Looking at them gives her confidence that it will come true. After some time, she lets go. Cadmus sees a brief smile on her face and appreciates his gesture.

Cadmus nuzzles his nose against her back. She turns and does the ceremony to turn him back into a human. He slowly breaks the kiss with clothes on. He cups her face in his hands before kissing her cheek. It will take time, but he has a strong hope that the new demigod will make his promise come true.

He takes Harmonia's hand so they can eat breakfast.


Takashi and the others do some warm-up exercises before clashing their weapons. Takashi knows from experience what they can do as he anticipates the swings of the club, shield, and wire. They stop sparring after picking up on that.

Percy raises his eyebrows. "How did you predict that?"

"We trained before."

This makes sense in his mind. "Oh."

"Let's get you up to speed with that sword."

As he teaches him how to use Athena's sword effectively, Perseus finds it a lot easier as it's all coming back to him. It's a strange sensation to him, but he accepts it. They go back to sparring as Artemis watches on. She then checks on the sun to see if she can communicate with Hemera.