Camp Half Blood, November 2004
The great thing about the time differences between Fandom and Luke's universe was that a few hours in Fandom was a couple days at Camp Half Blood. He could make day trips away from the island to do work for Kronos and hang out with Annabeth and be back before any nosy roommates or boyfriends could get suspicious about where he was. It almost worked out too perfectly and Luke couldn't help but wonder if this was an Apollo-fate thing at work. He quickly pushed the thought out of his head. If Apollo was working things in Fandom then everybody would be screwed.
Kronos hadn't asked for much so far. Luke was supposed to be prepared to recruit demigods for their cause and there was some vague talk about recovering a coffin at some point, but it was all stuff Luke could handle. Yes, even the coffin thing. He roomed with Nico, it's not like stuff associated with the dead scared him.
So far everything had been easy. Aside from the lying. And having to use Portalocity a lot. And the lying. Did he mention the lying?
Luke really hoped that he and Kronos could form a mode of communication outside of dreams soon. They were extremely invasive and a bit of a hassle to work out since he had trouble sleeping when he knew that there was the possibility of a Titan paying him a visit in his head. He may have been working for Kronos but the guy still scared him. Luke was just thankful that it seemed that Kronos couldn't reach him in Fandom. Still, it was a necessary evil and the reason he made the day trips to his own universe. He came back to camp and got fawned over by Annabeth and glared at by Clarisse while using cabin eleven as his headquarters for meetings with Kronos. As long as Luke didn't start randomly talking in his sleep it was all good.
Since it was his dreams, Luke was often responsible for the setting these meetings were held. He tried his best to think about places that were inconspicuous and not of any interest to Kronos. Places like cabin eleven, the woods, stuff like that. He especially liked dreaming about the few yards of the Daedalus' labyrinth that he had been willing to explore himself. It was dark and sinister, like the places people always met covertly in movies were. The dork in him liked that. But sometimes he couldn't help but dream about things that were more personal and he could only hope that Kronos never asked about it.
Like this time, for example, where he dreamed he was in Percy's room. He was sitting at Percy's desk, dipping his fingers into the fountain that he pretended to hate and idly hoping that this didn't turn into a sex dream because, wow, would that be awkward if Kronos came in during that.
"I find your choice in setting to be most intriguing, Luke Castellan," came a loud, rumbling voice from out of nowhere. Like always, Luke could barely stand the sound of metal scraping against rock when Kronos spoke. He winced constantly during these conversations, even if it was just a dream.
"It's my school," Luke explained. He really worked to keep Fandom and his own universe separate, so he wasn't really willing to explain further than that. So he changed the subject, bowing his head and saying, "Is there something you require of me, Lord Kronos?"
He knew he did. It's not like Kronos came into his head just to chat.
"It's time to prove your loyalty to me, Luke Castellan," Kronos said. "I have a task of great importance for you, one that will bring the destruction of the gods. But it is dangerous and require all of your skill if you are to make it out alive."
Luke felt a little chill run down his spine. He had been waiting for this moment, waiting for his chance to prove that Kronos had chosen well when he picked him to be the demigod to help him take down the gods. "I will do whatever it is my master asks of me."
"On the winter solstice the gods will gather in Olympus for their yearly meeting. Tensions will be high as the three oldest brothers are forced to tolerate each other," Kronos said. "They will be easily agitated and quick to blame each other for things gone wrong."
Luke nodded. "Zeus, Poseidon and Hades hate each other. They look for any excuse to fight."
"Very good. We want them to fight. We want them at war with each other. They would destroy themselves from the inside out and take down the rest of the world with them," Kronos said. "You, my boy, will help them start this war."
"How?" Luke asked. He knew it wouldn't take much to get the gods to argue, but starting a war was a completely different deal.
"You will be at Olympus during the solstice," Kronos said. "And you will use the skills your father has blessed you with to steal Zeus' master lightning bolt and the helm of Hades. You will then hide the items away and let the two of them blame Poseidon for the theft."
Luke paled a little. "You want me to steal from Zeus and Hades?"
"You will steal from Zeus and Hades," Kronos ordered, his voice taking on an even more dangerous edge. "You will not fail me. Your life and our plans depend on your success."
Luke had the feeling Kronos cared more about the plans than his life, but he nodded anyway. "I understand. I won't fail you."
"See that you don't," Kronos said. "I suggest you use the time between now and the solstice to prepare."
"I will," Luke said, nodding. "Thank you for this opportunity to prove myself, Lord Kronos."
Luke wasn't surprised when he suddenly found himself awake in his bunk in cabin eleven. He was breathing heavily, like he had a nightmare, and was glad that the few people that did stay at camp in the winter were happy to ignore him. His meetings with Kronos always ended abruptly like that, and they always took a lot out of him. Maybe they took a lot out of Kronos too. It couldn't be easy, contacting someone when you were in Tartarus.
Light was streaming through the windows and it looked like summer outside even though it was November at camp. Luke would have liked to spend some time in the sun, but he knew he had to get back to Fandom before anybody noticed how long he had been gone. Coming back to the room tanner than he had left in the morning would have definitely given something away.
[NFI and NFB due to distance mmkay]
Kronos hadn't asked for much so far. Luke was supposed to be prepared to recruit demigods for their cause and there was some vague talk about recovering a coffin at some point, but it was all stuff Luke could handle. Yes, even the coffin thing. He roomed with Nico, it's not like stuff associated with the dead scared him.
So far everything had been easy. Aside from the lying. And having to use Portalocity a lot. And the lying. Did he mention the lying?
Luke really hoped that he and Kronos could form a mode of communication outside of dreams soon. They were extremely invasive and a bit of a hassle to work out since he had trouble sleeping when he knew that there was the possibility of a Titan paying him a visit in his head. He may have been working for Kronos but the guy still scared him. Luke was just thankful that it seemed that Kronos couldn't reach him in Fandom. Still, it was a necessary evil and the reason he made the day trips to his own universe. He came back to camp and got fawned over by Annabeth and glared at by Clarisse while using cabin eleven as his headquarters for meetings with Kronos. As long as Luke didn't start randomly talking in his sleep it was all good.
Since it was his dreams, Luke was often responsible for the setting these meetings were held. He tried his best to think about places that were inconspicuous and not of any interest to Kronos. Places like cabin eleven, the woods, stuff like that. He especially liked dreaming about the few yards of the Daedalus' labyrinth that he had been willing to explore himself. It was dark and sinister, like the places people always met covertly in movies were. The dork in him liked that. But sometimes he couldn't help but dream about things that were more personal and he could only hope that Kronos never asked about it.
Like this time, for example, where he dreamed he was in Percy's room. He was sitting at Percy's desk, dipping his fingers into the fountain that he pretended to hate and idly hoping that this didn't turn into a sex dream because, wow, would that be awkward if Kronos came in during that.
"I find your choice in setting to be most intriguing, Luke Castellan," came a loud, rumbling voice from out of nowhere. Like always, Luke could barely stand the sound of metal scraping against rock when Kronos spoke. He winced constantly during these conversations, even if it was just a dream.
"It's my school," Luke explained. He really worked to keep Fandom and his own universe separate, so he wasn't really willing to explain further than that. So he changed the subject, bowing his head and saying, "Is there something you require of me, Lord Kronos?"
He knew he did. It's not like Kronos came into his head just to chat.
"It's time to prove your loyalty to me, Luke Castellan," Kronos said. "I have a task of great importance for you, one that will bring the destruction of the gods. But it is dangerous and require all of your skill if you are to make it out alive."
Luke felt a little chill run down his spine. He had been waiting for this moment, waiting for his chance to prove that Kronos had chosen well when he picked him to be the demigod to help him take down the gods. "I will do whatever it is my master asks of me."
"On the winter solstice the gods will gather in Olympus for their yearly meeting. Tensions will be high as the three oldest brothers are forced to tolerate each other," Kronos said. "They will be easily agitated and quick to blame each other for things gone wrong."
Luke nodded. "Zeus, Poseidon and Hades hate each other. They look for any excuse to fight."
"Very good. We want them to fight. We want them at war with each other. They would destroy themselves from the inside out and take down the rest of the world with them," Kronos said. "You, my boy, will help them start this war."
"How?" Luke asked. He knew it wouldn't take much to get the gods to argue, but starting a war was a completely different deal.
"You will be at Olympus during the solstice," Kronos said. "And you will use the skills your father has blessed you with to steal Zeus' master lightning bolt and the helm of Hades. You will then hide the items away and let the two of them blame Poseidon for the theft."
Luke paled a little. "You want me to steal from Zeus and Hades?"
"You will steal from Zeus and Hades," Kronos ordered, his voice taking on an even more dangerous edge. "You will not fail me. Your life and our plans depend on your success."
Luke had the feeling Kronos cared more about the plans than his life, but he nodded anyway. "I understand. I won't fail you."
"See that you don't," Kronos said. "I suggest you use the time between now and the solstice to prepare."
"I will," Luke said, nodding. "Thank you for this opportunity to prove myself, Lord Kronos."
Luke wasn't surprised when he suddenly found himself awake in his bunk in cabin eleven. He was breathing heavily, like he had a nightmare, and was glad that the few people that did stay at camp in the winter were happy to ignore him. His meetings with Kronos always ended abruptly like that, and they always took a lot out of him. Maybe they took a lot out of Kronos too. It couldn't be easy, contacting someone when you were in Tartarus.
Light was streaming through the windows and it looked like summer outside even though it was November at camp. Luke would have liked to spend some time in the sun, but he knew he had to get back to Fandom before anybody noticed how long he had been gone. Coming back to the room tanner than he had left in the morning would have definitely given something away.
[NFI and NFB due to distance mmkay]