Percy Jackson and The Trapped Souls

5. Local Primordial God Wishes for a Hangover.

Disorientation hit hard when he opened his eyes, confusion filtering through his system for a moment as he struggled to recognise the room he was in.

Realisation hit like the shock of cold water; the events of the last few days hurtling through his mind like a hurricane, playing things out in live technicolour. A feeling of dread crawled up his spine when he realised that he was being watched, slowly meeting the eyes of his observer with a nervous smile on his face.

"Nathaniel," Oceanus' greeting was weary, his Titan half-brother looking like he had aged a century since they'd last met. Despite knowing that Oceanus wouldn't bother to go to the effort of hurting him, Nathan couldn't help but wish that he had followed his heart instead of his head when he'd made the decision to rest and collect supplies before rushing into the depths of the Underworld. "You've not been the easiest person to track down as of late."

"Uncle," Nathan managed to force the moniker that Oceanus had insisted upon – saying that he didn't want to hear 'brother' from someone whose lifespan was the same as a blink of an eye – past his lips. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I wasn't expecting your false brother to let you live once your loyalties were revealed," Oceanus gave a derisive sniff. "Let alone the Hades boy once he discovered what you did to his love affair."

"I was surprised too," Nathan purposefully kept his voice neutral, despite the fact his heart was threatening to beat out of his chest. "I didn't think I'd be leaving Camp Half-Blood alive."

"And yet, here we are," Oceanus folded his arms and sat back in his chair. His eyes were like a laser, focused on Nathan as if he was trying to expose his soul. "You're alive and Perseus Jackson is walking the Earth again. On the other hand, our brother is dead and our mother has been forced back into her deep slumber."

"Kronos is dead?" Nathan couldn't hide his genuine surprise. He'd had his suspicions, but having confirmation was different. Until now, he'd been torn between the conclusion that Kronos had been defeated by Percy's hand, or by the hand of the spell Nathan had gotten himself involved in. He'd sincerely hoped for the former, knowing it would be a delightful twist of irony for his brother to be downed by the hand of someone they had all thought to be dead.

"His form is scattered and cannot be remade again, you know what I mean," Oceanus waved a hand, dismissing the matter easily. Nathan knew that there was no love lost between them, but he didn't expect this from Oceanus – even as Oceanus' eyes narrowed and his gaze became piercing once more. "You are not surprised about the news concerning our mother?"

"I wasn't sure whether she would play her hand and go through with her plan to attack Camp Half-Blood after the demigods rescued Eros and took me into custody," Nathan responded truthfully. "I thought she would send Kronos to do her bidding again and bide her time until she had a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of Camp with Chaos' Team and Artemis' Hunters there."

"You turned on us the moment they took your flight of fancy, didn't you?" Oceanus tilted his head ever so slightly.

Despite all of his efforts to the contrary, Nathan couldn't help but flinch at the accusation. It was enough to give the game away, understanding washing over Oceanus' features like the change of the tide.

"I thought as much," Oceanus let out a burst of laughter. "I warned her when she took you away from your father. She'd left you with the mortals for too long; if she wanted a true demigod weapon, she should never have left you with that soft-hearted mortal in the first place. That man was a fool and he was allowed to influence you far too much."

"My father was not a fool," Nathan snapped in response, fire flaring in his heart for a moment. He knew from the look on Oceanus' face that he'd had the exact reaction the Titan was aiming for, but he didn't care. His father was more of a sore subject than usual after his talk with Percy and his run-in with the Fates. He couldn't take much more. "And so what if I stopped playing for our mother's side? You can hardly judge me for it, you didn't even want to get involved in this crusade in the first place."