Percy was back in the room in his mind. It was bigger this time, with a flatscreen TV attached to one of the eight golden walls. Kronos was sitting on a leather couch in front of it, drinking a can of Red Bull and watching a basketball match.
As soon as Kronos saw him, he switched off the TV with the remote and stood up. "You want a Red Bull? Or a Coke?" Kronos offered. "Uh, Coke's fine," answered Percy.
A can of the soft drink appeared on the table beside Percy. "Thanks," said Percy, grabbing the Coke and popping it open. He took a sip as Kronos started talking.
"I found out how to get out of your body without you forcing me out. Well, Metis did, but whatever." Kronos cleared his throat. "Let's see. Forgive me, my memory isn't the best. Oh, yes. I remember now. I, Kronos, leave the body of Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon."
Percy was slightly annoyed by the use of his full name and was about to correct him when Kronos faded into golden mist and disappeared. Man, that was a lot of gold.
Before Percy could do anything else, he felt himself being lifted from the ground towards a light that shone down from the ceiling.
He woke up in the infirmary. How many times was that now? Two? Three? Probably three. Leo's face hovered above his. When he saw that Percy was awake, Leo grinned.
"Hey! He's awake!" he shouted at someone outside of Percy's line of sight. Leo moved away and his face was replaced by Annabeth's. Her face was full of worry.
"Did you get rid of him?" asked Annabeth. Percy smiled and nodded. Annabeth smiled back and leaned in to kiss him passionately.
"Get a room, you two," someone muttered. Percy looked up. It was Nico. He was trying to look annoyed at their display of affection, but Percy could tell by the small smile on his face that he was glad that Percy was free of a certain Titan of time.
Psst...Percy, a voice sounded in his mind. Percy sat upright in his bed. "Perce? You okay there, bro?" asked Leo, sounding concerned. "Uh, yeah. Fine," answered Percy.
He tried to talk to the voice. Kronos? Is that you? he thought.
Yes, it's me.
Wha- How are you doing this? I thought I wasn't your host anymore.
You're not. But we can speak to each other mentally....somehow.
Okay, so what do you want?
Meet me in the forest.
The forest? But you burned it down!
Fine. Meet me at the bunker. I assume you know what I'm talking about. No one can know I'm here.
Bunker 9. Got it.
"I gotta go," announced Percy. "What? Where're you going?" asked Hazel. "Not gonna tell ya," he replied, getting off his bed and walking out the door.
Percy made his way towards the burned-down forest, waving at any campers that passed by. He was surprised they waved back. After what he'd done, he'd expected them to ignore him.
He walked deeper into the forest and reached Bunker 9. The door was slightly open. Percy peeked inside. Kronos was crouching in front of desk, being too tall to just stand at his normal height, staring at the blueprints that were on the wall.
Percy walked inside and tapped Kronos's forearm, which was the highest point that he could reach, startling the Titan and making him jump.
"Gods, you scared the Styx out of me!" he exclaimed.
"So why did you tell me to come here?"
"Gaea is planning an attack today. Or tonight, more like it."
Percy swore. Another attack? And at night? The monsters would have the upper hand. In case you didn't know, demigods can't see in the dark. But monsters can.
"Don't worry about it," said Kronos. "Some of the monsters like the Cyclopes and the dracanae won't hurt you." He paused before adding, "Much."
"Why not?"
"They don't necessarily...like Gaea. But they can't let Gaea know of their being against her. She'd throw them into Tartarus for eternity if she knew."
"How do we know which ones are on our side?"
"Does it matter? We'll come back anyway."
"Good point. So, what? Kill all of them?"
Kronos nodded. "And if you win, maybe when we reform, we could be allies." He held out a hand. Percy stared at his outstretched hand for a few seconds before shaking it.
"I must go. You have to warn your camp of the attack tonight." Kronos waved and disappeared with a bright light.
Ugh. School starts next week. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. UUUUUGGGGGHHHHH. I hate school...and to make things worse, the time changed so now it ends at 3:30 pm. From 7:00 am to 3:30 pm. HOW IS THAT FAIR?! AND I HAVE TUITION TOO.
-Destiny
