Regaining Perspective - DAsObiQuiet - Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2024)

Chapter 1: Well, That's Different.

Chapter Text

Note: This is a sequel!If you'd like to check out the previous stories, please look up 'It's the Mindset'. Thank you.

xXx

Percy doubted many people could say they'd been on a bus with a Fury at least three times before and lived. He recalled his previous trip to the museum from his former life, then the awful accident at the beginning of his first quest, and now. Really, it was such a shame Alecto hated demigods so much or they'd practically be friends. Although, even as an immortal in the future, she hadn't liked him. Then again, she didn't seem to like anyone who wasn't completely associated with the underworld (his small tie to Tartarus apparently didn't count—not that he really wanted it to).

"Will you stop that?" Nancy Bobofit snapped at him, pointing to where he was drumming his fingers nervously against his leg. He sat squeezed against the window, trying to take up as little space as possible to keep a low profile. Apparently, that wasn't working.

"ADHD," he muttered back.

"Yeah, well, find some other thing to do about it because you're freaking me out."

She could have said it nicer, but that was a fair request. As a twelve-year-old the first time around, he probably would have just snapped back at her and gotten them into a fight. This time around, he switched to tapping his foot and folded his arms. His assigned partner rolled her eyes and turned around to keep talking with her friends behind them.

Percy took the opportunity to peek over the seats at the bus driver. The (barely) disguised fury's red eyes glinted off of the mirror right back at him.

Son of a satyr.

He felt his lips tighten, thankful she probably couldn't see it due to the seat in front of him, and sat back. Yeah, she was definitely there for him. Which probably meant the helm had been stolen along with the bolt again. He'd kind of hoped none of the symbols would go missing, but it was nice to know that Kronos was going through with his original plan. Although Luke… Itcouldhave been someone else, he supposed, but was he really that lucky?

Either way, it looked like he'd be going on a quest this summer… probably to the Underworld.

Joy.

If Lukedidsteal that bolt, he wasn't going to survive long enough to make it to Kronos. Percy wouldn't let him destroy everything again.

But that was all for later. Right now, he had to figure out how he'd survive the current trip. Not that he didn't have the control or power to take on Mrs. Dodds, even if she didn't underestimate him like she had the first time, but he couldn't underestimate her either. She was a Fury, and they had a reputation for a reason. She was not a weak monster, and he couldn't think of her that way. Especially not now when he was mortal again (and would like tostaythat way).

If he could talk her down instead of fighting, it would probably be better for everyone. He just had to convince her of that.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and forced himself to calm down. He could do this. One way or another.

The museum trip went pretty well for the first part, even if Mrs. Dodds joined them. She stayed at the back of the group, following them the entire time. Wasn't she supposed to stay with the bus? Or had she twisted The Mist for that?

Well, two could play that game.

Bracing himself, Percy reached out to The Mist around them and twisted it. Mr. Guerrero—the Language Arts teacher (he wasn't anywhere near as good as Paul)—suddenly paused from where he stood at the front of the group and frowned.

"Mrs. Dodds," he called out.

Percy watched the old woman's eyes narrow and shoot over to him for the barest moment. "Yes?"

"Shouldn't you be waiting with the bus?"

She smiled (it was all teeth) and waved her hand. Percy felt The Mist twirl. Well, that confirmed that. "Oh, it's fine. It's completely locked up. I can do whatever I want with the time it's not in use."

"Ah," the teacher nodded and turned around. "Very well then. In here, we have the Egyptian artifacts," he turned into the room they'd been approaching. Percy sighed. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to get into a mist fight with a Fury. Looked like he'd have to do it the old fashioned way.

As they walked through the Egyptian room, he noticed several pieces that had subtle magic attached to them and smirked. No doubt the Nomes had an eye on all of these. He wondered if a magician worked in the museum. Probably.

Then, of course, they moved onto the Greco-Roman section.

The comparison to the first time he'd been there couldn't have been more different. The first time around, it had been a boring trip with a few odd, if interesting pieces. Now… everything spoke to him. Some more than others—mainly the weapons—but also the statues and pottery… even the replicas. Each piece had such history to it. And he could read it all. Prayers, wishes, epitaphs, poems. It almost felt like he'd stepped into another world.

It was amazing. He may have to visit more museums after this.

Percy didn't hear a thing the teacher said as they moved through the room, unable to take his eyes off of the displays.

And then they got to the Roman art. That jarred him. He hadn't been expecting such a sudden change, but he did remember Mr. Guerrero saying it was Greco-Roman, not just Greek. The fact that he could tell so easily—that he could practically hear the history with the Roman works too—surprised him.

He frowned, stopping in front of a statue of Neptune. He'd met his father's other self a couple of times, but Neptune always seemed so… tired to Percy. Tired and annoyed and done with the world. The former god much preferred Poseidon most of the time. Poseidon had a fascination with the world, an adventurous spirit that always added a sense of excitement to anything he did. Even in his calmest moments, there was an intensity there that Percy found inspiring, if extremely frustrating at times. Neptune lacked that. Although if something needed to get done, it was usually easier to go to Neptune. Or at least more profitable. He was still very industrious. It was a Roman thing, apparently.

And this statue had been dedicated to him. He could tell. It reeked of the water's claim. Not the sea, necessarily, just water in general. Huh. That hadn't been exactly usual in Rome. He was glad to see it had happened. He may notlikeNeptune as much, but that didn't mean he wanted to see that side of his father forgotten.

A sudden hand on his shoulder made him jump and shriek and he almost attacked his teacher, who backed away with his hands in the air.

"Percy," Mr. Guerrero said sternly, his mustache twitching like a fuzzy, black caterpillar as he spoke. "I'm glad you like the artwork here, but we are moving on. We have a lot to see today. And we need to stay together."

Percy blinked at his teacher as if seeing him for the first time.

"Right. Yeah, sorry," he said.

"Troublemaker," said a sickly-sweet voice behind him. He stiffened and looked around. It was just him, Mr. Guerrero, and Mrs. Dodds. The rest of the class was with the other escort—Mrs. Turner, the history teacher of course—on the other side of the room.

Percy grit his teeth and clenched his fist, willing The Mist to bend the way he wanted. Thankfully, Mr. Guerrero frowned at the monster in disguise. "Mrs. Dodds, I do not appreciate that kind of language towards our students. Consider this your only warning. If I hear more from you, we will ask for a different driver, even if we have to wait for one. Am I clear?"

The time-traveler grinned as he practically heard the Fury grind her teeth. "Perfectly."

"Good."

That was one thing Percy liked about The Mist. It didn't actually change people's minds, but it could poke their moral center if manipulated just right. Nothing that wasn't already there, just a nudge in the right direction. He very carefully didn't look at the Fury behind him as Mr. Guerrero began to lead them back to the class. None of them had seemed to notice or care that Percy was gone, which was fine if annoying. Wasn't Nancy supposed to be his partner for that very reason?

Before they got there, though, a taloned arm reached out and grabbed him. The Mist swirled. "Oh, you need to go to the restroom?" Mrs. Dodds asked, "I'll accompany you."

Percy considered bending The Mist again so the others would, you know,rememberhe was there but ultimately decided against it. She wanted their confrontation now? Fine. Bring it.

He didn't fight as they stomped back to the other side of the room. Other patrons suddenly seemed to remember something they needed to do and quickly hurried out. More mist manipulation. Percy reached back in his backpack and pulled out a water bottle. With a thought, the bottle cap exploded off, the water already forming into the shape of a sword floating in the air. Not a long one, but it would be good enough.

He really needed Riptide. Why hadn't Chiron given it to him last year? Maybe he was waiting for a quest? Well, Percy would ask when he got back to camp. Until then…

Noticing his sudden armed status, Mrs. Dodds leaped away from him spryly. Smart lady. They began to circle each other as her human disguise melted off, revealing leather wings and those burning eyes.

"Where is it?" she hissed at him through sharp teeth.

"Where is what?" he asked, though inside he was cursing up a storm. Confirmation that the Helm had been stolen. Yippee.

He really hoped, for Luke's sake (and Annabeth's) that the older boy hadn't been the culprit.

"Tell me now and I'll kill you quickly," she said. "I won't offer to be so kind again."

Right. She seemed about as ready to talk as she had the first time around. Go figure.

Fortunately, he had an idea. "I swear on the Styx that I did not take whatever you're referring to, nor am I knowingly in league with the actual culprit." Outside, thunder rumbled.

The Fury was not expecting that. She actually froze, staring with large eyes at Percy for several seconds. He didn't say anything, and after a moment, she scowled again. It looked particularly awful on her wrinkled face.

"Did you go to or near the Empire State Building at any time in the month of December or January?"

Inwardly, he cheered. His choice to not go near downtown New York paid off. "No. I swear it on the Styx."

She deflated as more thunder rumbled, and took on her human guise again. "I should kill you anyway," she muttered.

Percy shot her an unimpressed look. "I'm sure my father would be very displeased at the blatant injustice."

"Your father has no love for justice," she hissed back.

"He's not a god of justice," Percy corrected. "That doesn't mean he has no care for it. Especially recently."

Alecto's eyes still burned, and if looks could kill, he'd be a pile of ashes. Good thing they couldn't… at least not hers.

Deciding to throw her a bone, Percy sighed. "What was actually stolen?"

"None of your business!"

"Well I can't keep an eye out for it if I don't know what it is."

She grit her teeth again. "Impertinent!"

He threw his hands in the air, sword and all. "Howis that impertinent?! I was literally offering to help, if not go out of my way to do it!"

"Disrespectful brat!"

Percy rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You and I have very different definitions of the word 'disrespectful'. Now, if you're not going to tell me, I'm going back to my class. Follow me or not, I don't care. But if you do attack me, I will send you back to the Underworld the fast way."

She hissed again, but made no threatening advances. Percy took that as a concession and turned to leave. Thankfully, she wasn't stupid enough to try and attack him when he was still armedandnot guilty.

"Also, no more mist manipulation," he called over his shoulder. "Or I will retaliate. Maybe you'll win in a magic contest, but I'll make you earn it."

He got back to his class with his water bottle refilled. He'd melted his ice-sword, as he really didn't have an excuse for that and didn't want to expend energy to hide it or leave it to The Mist. With his luck, it would end up putting him in jail anyway. Casually, he re-inserted himself with the group. Alecto never showed up again. When the time came to go back to school, they had a different bus driver and no one noticed, of course.

Even though Percy had to sit by Nancy again on the way back, and she was as awful as ever, he counted the entire outing as a success. Probably one of his best field trips to date. He'd avoided a fight and established his innocence while avoiding killing the Lord of the Dead's right-hand monster. Maybe now Hades wouldn't utterly hate him when he showed up in the Underworld this summer?

Yeah, he wasn't stupid enough to count on that.

xXx

Okay, there straightforward, and then there was ridiculous. Now was definitely the latter. Of course, were Percy the original twelve-year-old from the first timeline, this would probably be terrifying, but… he wasn't. So ridiculous it was.

He folded his arms as his classmates surged in chaos around him, trying to get away from the monsters breaking through the school's perimeter fence while he was in PE (why was it always PE?). His class had gone outside to do some running when the monsters broke through the chain-link fence, yelling and screaming for him. By name.

He sighed. There was no way he'd be coming back to Yancy now. Although… was that a bad thing? He didn't think so. He could try to magic up something with the Mist to keep him there but he'd be staying at home with his mother next year too. He wouldn't mind staying at that one until Goode. And he'd be staying there too, if he could.

Shrugging and figuring he'd deal with whatever happened later when he came to it, he let The Mist do what it would and drew water from the nearby fountain. While everyone else panicked and surged back into the school, he stalked forward with a sharp (literally) grin.

"Hey! You looking for me?"

The group of twelve or so monsters—a couple of cyclopes, some lycanthropes, some cynocephali—all zeroed in on him. Good. That meant no one else would become collateral damage. Which meant he could go all out, in terms of fighting if not power. The fight shouldn't be too hard, even in his younger body. Especially with a water source nearby.

His grin sharpened even more. Within seconds, he had his ice-sword in hand and was charging forward with a yell. The monsters obviously weren't expecting a twelve-year-old to do that and hesitated. That was their mistake.

He'd decapitated one cyclops and two cynocephali before they all managed to get their bearings and jump at him. He was able to dodge underneath some of the diving monsters, leaving several to knock into each other behind him, scowling and yelling curses. So not the most intelligent of monsters. Good to know.

He directed the water from the fountain to spear a couple on the other side of the pack from him while he jammed his sword down into the back of the lycanthrope struggling to get to his feet. One of the other lycanthropes was either lucky or a little smarter, and managed to jump at him as he swung, missing the blow and swiping at the demigod's head. Percy noticed and managed to move at the last moment. The claws raked along his shoulder instead of his face as he tried to duck out of the way, hissing in pain. It wasn't the worst pain he'd ever felt by a long shot, but it still hurt. He didn't let it affect his fighting and kept his sword swinging.

The scent of blood just made the dog-related monsters go nuts, their jaws salivating as Percy continued to fight. They scrambled at him with claws, backed up by cyclopes with hands the size of ceiling fans while he slashed and swung his sword, making sure to keep part of his mind on the van-sized, floating mass of water he was using to corral them on the other side.

One cyclops managed to get behind him, slamming his fist into Percy's ribs. He gasped, but it didn't feel like anything broke, and he still managed to spear the monster through with a water spike, even as he flew through the air. The cyclops poofed into dust as Percy forced himself to his feet. He brought his sword up just as another cynocephalus managed to get his head around Percy's shin, almost snapping his bone in half as his jaws slammed closed. Percy cried out in pain, but stabbed the thing through its head before it could let go. He left the resulting sulfur dust and turned to the remaining monsters. He'd have a harder time getting them due to his leg, but he could treat that later, so he forced himself to push through the pain. Again.

It still wasn't the most difficult fight he'd ever been in.

He and the monsters clashed again, him blocking more swipes and bites, but surprising them all with a smaller ice-blade in his left hand that he'd solidified behind his back. He swiped it across necks and into the bases of their heads.

"Tell the Titan King 'Nice Try'," Percy hissed at the final monster—a cyclops—before driving his sword through the large chest. The body crumbled into yellow dust and blew away on the slight breeze.

As it often did after a fight, silence fell and Percy stood there breathing heavily, weight on one leg and bleeding from several cuts and bites, but victorious. He'd had to work for it, but he'dwon.

After a moment, he looked around and saw only the empty courtyard. A couple of people watched from the doorways or windows, but other than him, it was empty. Good.

Tiredly, he willed the water back in the fountain, walked over, and plopped down into it, splashing water all over his wounds. Now, being a school fountain, it wasn't the cleanest thing, but much like the Mississippi river way back on his first quest (that he'd likely be going on again later this year, yay), it was water, which meant it was enough to help him heal. It wasn't ambrosia, but his wounds began closing up almost immediately and his hurt leg (that was probably a hairline fracture, joy) began to ease too, as did his aching ribs.

By the time the cops showed up a couple of minutes later, most of his wounds were fully healed. His leg still ached, as did his chest, but otherwise, his cuts and bruises were gone. He had to twist The Mist so the officers didn't see his ruined clothes and ask uncomfortable questions, but he was still rushed to the hospital, where he was given a clean bill of health except for his leg and ribs. They kept asking him how he got out of that without so much as a scrape. He just shrugged and told them once the guys realized he was willing to fight back, they ran like the cowards they were. The cops didn't seem to really buy it, but they also didn't push it, so he counted it as a win. They'd probably see just what he said on the school cameras later anyway. The Mist was usually consistent in cases like that.

Usually.

Of course his mother was called too. It took her two hours to get to the hospital, and by the time she did get there, he was more or less finished. She hugged him and asked him if he was alright and hovered…. He didn't mind in the slightest.

Naturally, that whole thing would happen a month away from the end of the school year. She almost took him home right then and there, but he wanted to finish at least. Yancy agreed, but also asked him not to return, 'for his own safety'.

Percy just rolled with it. He really didn't care. Although the new respect (and unfortunately, fear) from the students and faculty members was… interesting. He hated it mostly, he'd never been one for attention, but he had to admit it was useful.

When the school year finally ended, his mom wanted to come and pick him up, but he insisted he was fine and he'd just take the bus home. It took a fair amount of convincing, but Percy really was curious as to what Kronos or the Fates might throw his way and didn't want his mother involved more than she had to be. He also had a sneaking suspicionsomethingwould happen on his way back no matter what, so he eventually managed to convince her, and the last day of school had him getting onto the bus with his luggage.

At the first transfer, he managed to get all of his stuff and started weaving around the crowds, trying not to run into too many people. It was just a bus stop, but more crowded for some reason than he thought it should be. His paranoia didn't help his clumsiness either.

After running into no less than five people, the last one being a girl about his age who shot him a strange look, he managed to get his luggage loaded and was about to get onto the bus when he heard his name called.

"Percy! Percy Jackson! Thank the gods."

Grabbing his water bottle, he looked back, ready to destroy whatever monster he found. Instead, he saw a familiar face with a scraggly beard under brown, curly hair dragging someone through the crowd.

No, draggingtwosomeones…

The Fates were laughing at him. Again.

Because that was Grover Underwood. And while Percy was thrilled to see his best friend there, it also made him freeze because Grover was leading two very familiar, dark-haired children through the crowd.

Bianca and Nico Di Angelo.

What.

Chapter 2: Fights, Explanations, And More Rude Awakenings

Chapter Text

Grover was cursed. That was the only thing that made sense to Percy.

No, seriously, after everything that had happened, how did the satyrstillmanage to find all of the big three kids? Admittedly he hadn't found Percy in this lifetime… except he just did…

"Di Immortales,"the son of Poseidon muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Maybe Grover was just always meant to become the Lord of the Wild. It would be his luck. Not that he'd been a bad Lord of the Wild, quite the contrary. Or maybe it was his fate.

Yeah, Percy wasn't going to go there. Not right now.

Although, should he do something about Pan now that he thought about it? Sure, there weren't as many wild places in the world left, but there were still some. Canada had a lot of wild land, didn't it? And there were still some pretty amazing wild lands in the US too, from what he recalled.

It was something to think about. He'd have to convince Pan, obviously. But… yeah, later.

"Percy!" Grover said as he hurried up to the time-traveler, who stepped out of the way of the door leading onto the bus. It wouldn't leave for at least fifteen minutes, but enough people wanted to get on. He didn't want to block the entrance.

"Grover! Nice to see you, my dude!" he said. At least that was genuine. "Who are these two?" he asked, turning to Nico and Bianca. They both looked pale and worried, breathing heavily. Probably a monster then. Great.

"This is Bianca and Nico di Angelo," Grover said quickly. Then he paused and looked around. "They're demigods," he whispered. "We were on our way to camp, but a bunch of monsters chased us from the bus. We had to run!"

Percy's smile faded to a grim expression as he looked around for the oncoming monsters. Too bad his bus wouldn't leave in time either. Looked like he'd have to take care—

"I need you to take care of them."

Wait, "What?"

His sentiment was echoed by the Di Angelos.

"I'm going to try and lead the monsters away. You can get them to camp and—"

"Grover," Percy said loudly, stopping his friend's panicked rant. "You're worried and want to help them, I get it, but you're not thinking straight. How will you running off create a diversion? The monsters will follow our scent here."

"I should have enough lingering on me. If I get near the—"

"No," Percy said firmly. "How will sacrificing yourself get these two to camp?"

A frown. "I trust you."

That made Percy smile warmly. "Thanks, man. But if you trust me, then let me take care of the monsters."

"Baa-ah-ah!" Grover bleated. "I can't let you do that! It's my job to get you all safely to camp!"

"Then here," Percy said, shoving a bunch of bills in Grover's hands. "Go pay for tickets for the three of you on my bus, and letmelead the monsters away. I know what I'm doing."

"But…" he looked so worried.

Percy put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You said you trust me, so trust me. You know who my father is."

"Yeah… but…"

"I'll just lead the monsters away, okay? Maybe pick a few of them off if I get the chance, but that's it." Totally a lie, but Grover should feel how Percy was confident at least. "Now, what's following you."

"Dracaenae! They have the ability to call others to their cause! Half-snake, half human! Plus 50 for every Dracaena in play!"

Aaand there was Nico. Percy had forgotten how adorable he'd been as a kid.

"Dracaenae," the time-traveler nodded, then reached out and patted Nico's hair. It would be good to have his baby cousin back. "Thanks, Nico. I need you to stay with Grover and your sister, right? Then you're all coming to my house."

"What?" Bianca asked before anyone else could say anything. "How do we know that's safe?"

Wow, she'd been spooked. Which, fair.

"Do you guys trust Grover?" he asked her calmly. Frowning, she glanced uncertainly at their satyr guide, but nodded. Nico followed her lead. Good.

"Grover, do you trust me?"

"Definitely," he said again without even hesitating. Percy grinned.

"You're the best, man."

"Baa-ah-ah," Grover said, volume on that one much smaller as his face went bright red. "I'm really not…"

"You really are." He noted some strange movement in the crowd out of the corner of his eye. Yeah, they needed to split up now. "Now go ahead and get onto the bus. Be prepared in case any get by me, but I should be able to lead most of them off. And… I know it's unusual, but maybe explain everything to them? I know I appreciated that when my Mom told me."

Grover sighed. "Yeah. I… I don't like you just going off, though."

"I know. That's because you're a good guy," Percy said. "Now go ahead and protect these two until we can get them the training they need to protect themselves." He grinned at the very confused looking siblings, and then shot off into the crowd.

No sooner had he done so, than he saw his first monster. She looked directly at him. Which was fine. Reaching out to The Mist, he twisted it. That quickly, no one around them could see either one of them unless they could see through The Mist. They'd just avoid the general area, and probably not even realize it if he'd done it right. Of course it would take a couple of seconds for everyone to leave the area, but he was pretty confident in his skills. After 300 years of practice, he'd better be decent.

"Hi there!" he said, smile sharp as he reached out for the nearest source of water. A little ways away, a man with a water bottle exclaimed as it exploded and shot towards Percy. He didn't feel too bad. Not with his, Grover's, and his cousins' lives on the line. In seconds, he had a short sword in his hand once again. "Guessing you want to try your luck?"

She didn't even say anything as she lunged at him. It was almost too easy, especially with the space he needed to take her out. Of course, he almost immediately had to duck another one coming at him, and take her out before she ran into a mortal family just a couple of feet away. He managed, thankfully. They wouldn't have even seen it coming, and he wasn't about to let that happen.

Thankfully, no one even turned an eye at them. No, seriously, mist manipulation should be taught to every demigod. This would have made his lifesomuch easier the first time around.

Even if it drained him faster.

He was still twelve, after all. Body wise.

He didn't know how many monsters he took care of, but after a couple of minutes, he realized his bus would be leaving soon. After taking out one last one, he turned and sprinted back to the bus, shoving his sword through the belt on his pants as he did. Then he dove into the crowd again.

He got there just in time to see two dracaenae who were trying to get onto the bus themselves. Narrowing his eyes, he melted the sword, separated the resulting water into two spheres, shaped them, and then shot ice spikes forward. Just before they hit, he reached out to The Mist again, showing the two walking hurriedly away for any mortals watching. The spikes did their job and killed the two monsters pretty easily, even if one of them managed to duck. That just meant the spike hit their head instead of their chest. Eh, not his favorite thing to do, but he'd take it.

He managed to get a hold of the falling spikes with his power and hurried onto the bus, showing the driver his bus pass.

She nodded, and he hurried back, keeping an eye out for any more monsters. Thankfully, he didn't see any. He did see Nico and Bianca on a seat towards the back. Grover sat in front of them, on the edge, ready to jump up and protect them. The moment he saw Percy, he almost melted in relief.

"Hey, G-man," Percy said.

"G-man?" the satyr asked.

Percy shrugged. "I won't call you that if you don't like it."

Grover blinked, but then smiled. "No, that's fine. I like it. G-man."

"So," Percy said as he collapsed into the seat as Grover scooted over. "I figure we get to my Mom's, and then she can get us to Camp." He frowned. "A little early, but it happens." He'd been looking forward to seeing her. But she'd be the first to admit that the Di Angelos' lives were more important. He'd just have to make it up to her.

"Anyway, how far did he get in the explanations?" the time-traveler asked, turning to the two kids behind him. They stared up at him with big, dark-brown eyes.

"Not far," Bianca said, obviously annoyed.

"We're the children of a Greek god?" Nico asked, looking a little star-struck. So different from the angry, grudge-holding man he'd grown into. Percy hoped his cousin could have a happier life this time around. Or at least, a happier first few years at Camp. Will wouldn't even be at Camp for another year or so, and Nico hadn't really taken to many others there. Of course, that could have had a lot to do with him running away and… well, his father.

Yeah, later. For now, he had some explaining to do. And apparently a lot more than he'd wanted. He shot a look at Grover, who held up his hands in defense.

"We were literally running for our lives!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "You're very lucky I'm good enough at mist manipulation that no one else can hear us.

"Alright," he turned back to the others. He… couldn't call them kids, could he? Well, Nico, maybe, but wasn't Bianca twelve? His current age? Weird.

(Also, way too young to die.

Later,brain!)

"Well, maybe I should introduce myself first," Percy decided to start with. "Hi, I'm Percy Jackson, son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon."

The other two stared at him in blatant shock.

"We're getting off the bus, Nico," he heard Bianca whisper to her brother, eyes never leaving the time-traveler. Nico looked torn between exclaiming how that was the coolest thing he'd ever heard and saying he didn't believe it.

Percy sighed and held up his hand. The sphere of water he'd used to kill the monsters (oh, it had some monster dust in it, he should probably do something about that) floated in front of them. They both stopped short, staring in awe.

"Wicked," Nico whispered.

"I don't like you using that word," Bianca said, but she never took her eyes off of the water.

"Billy used it."

Someone in the Lotus Hotel? Or maybe at whatever school they'd ended up in? Was that the slang term to use now? It seemed so old to Percy…

Then again, it would, wouldn't it.

After a moment, Bianca's expression firmed and she shook her head. "No, this has to be a trick."

Percy shrugged, split the water in two, and froze them into seperate shapes. Because it was Nico, he may have had death on the brain, and they suddenly held two 'Day of the Dead' skulls in their hands… because he wasn't about to freak them out with a replica of real human skulls.

"It's cold!" Nico yelped.

"Ice," Percy explained with another shrug. "Because of icebergs in the ocean." It was a simple explanation, even if not entirely true.

Bianca said something in Italian, then seemed surprised she'd done so. After a moment, she shook her head and looked up at him, eyes wide. "You're…. This is real."

Grimly, the son of Poseidon nodded. "Yeah. And… I'm going to say this right now: I'm sorry." He slumped a little. "The life of a demigod… isn't an easy one. And that's without figuring out who your godly parent is."

"This is all real…" Bianca muttered, eyes going distant.

"You know… how about you process that for a little bit," Percy said, recognizing when to back off. "You're welcome to ask questions any time, just let me know so I can manipulate The Mist so no one can hear us talking about it."

"The Mist?" Nico asked.

Percy opened his mouth to explain, but a hand on his arm and a look from Grover, whose eyes shot pointedly to Bianca, had him pausing. Right, processing.

"How about we talk about that later. For now, why don't you guys think about all of this?"

"Do you know who our godly parent is?" Nico asked.

Bianca stiffened.

"No one really knows until you're claimed," Grover said after an uncomfortable moment when Percy didn't know what to say. "And that happens at camp."

Nico opened his mouth to ask more questions, but Percy knew how to distract this young version of his cousin.

"Hey, what are those cards in your hand?" he asked, pointing to the Mythomagic cards.

Nico lit up. Again, it was adorable but Percy mentally braced himself and glanced over at Bianca. He wasn't used to a Nico this… open. And bright. And enthusiastic. But Bianca still needed time. Not an unusual response but Percy remembered being rather overwhelmed by Nico at this age. He really hoped his older cousin appreciated this.

And this time around, she'd be alive long enough to actually recognize it.

xXx

Percy spent the next forty five minutes trying not to dwell on how jarring it was to have a bright, social Nico yapping at him constantly while showing off his cards.

No. He wouldn't get over that.

He did inform Nico to not use a god's name once he started highlighting different cards. Thankfully, he started with Poseidon, so there was that. He didn't have to worry about Hades or Zeus showing up on the bus to wreak havoc in their godly wrath. Or 'stray' lightning bolts. Probably. Hopefully.

Nico was in the middle of explaining Mr. D's card when Bianca seemed to come to terms with everything and interrupted.

"Percy," she said, expression firm as she looked at him. He nodded, showing he was listening. "Okay. We're children of a Greek god. What, exactly, does that mean?"

He smiled softly at her. Just like he would one of his kids in the future.

"Exactly what it says on the tin. You are the child of a Greek god and a mortal.

"Yes, but what does thatmean," she pushed. "How areGreekgods even here…in America?"

Well, at least that one, he could answer. "The Greeks were all about innovation. They had some of the most forward thinking ideas of their time. Now, the gods likely came from other places that the world doesn't know as much about because it's just been so long, but at some point, the entire pantheon existed in Greece. That was when it solidified. And because of their innovation and dedication, the gods became connected to that ideal. Today it's called 'The Heart of the West'.

"So, when the Romans came in and more or less adopted a lot of the Greek gods into their pantheon—albeit with some significant changes—they started a chain-reaction of those deities moving with that Heart—the innovation.

"As more and more countries encouraged innovation, the pantheon itself kept moving farther and farther west. Hence the name.

"Eventually, they came here, to America. It's uncertain as to when. The Pantheon can waffle back and forth between countries when there's competition. Aunt Hestia says some came over before the Civil War, but we also know the First and Second World Wars were directly related to demigods, and thus, the gods."

"How?" Nico asked, wide eyes fixed on Percy.

He. Would.Never.Get. Over. That.

Not as long as Nico looked so…innocent.

(He kind of hoped he didn't get over that for a long time.)

"Well, there were leaders on both sides from children of the big three, and they kind of dragged their countries into the wars." That was the simplest explanation. Grossly simple, but hey.

"Big three?" Bianca asked. Percy considered that for a moment. This was getting awfully close to dangerous territory considering their father (that he should not know)… but they needed answers, and it didn't actually give anything away.

"The King of the Gods, the Lord of the Dead, and my Dad. The three sons of the Crooked One. Because their domains encompass so much, their demigods tend to be a bit stronger—or at least flashier—than other demigods."

"Wait… do we getpowers?!" Nico asked excitedly.

Percy remembered the literal army of skeletons this kid would be able to raise in just a few short years.

"Yeah," he said, hoping his voice didn't come out a little choked. "Depending on who your parent is. Like cabin eleven, children of the Messenger of the Gods, tend to have speed, thievery, jokes and pranks, among other things because their father has those domains. Cabin seven, children of the God of the Sun, tend to be very bright and outgoing, good at music, or healing, or shooting a bow and arrow for the same reason."

"And your Dad is the God of the Sea, so you can control water," Nico said.

"Among other things, yeah. Although, sometimes someone gets a bunch of domains from their parent, sometimes they only get one."

"Do you have more than just water as a domain then?"

This was just getting more uncomfortable. "Um, yeah. Though I'd kind of like to talk about that after we get to my home. Or camp."

Nico nodded, but Percy knew he wouldn't drop it. Bianca was just staring at him, but she seemed focused, at least.

"You said a name," she finally said quietly. "Earlier."

Percy blinked. "What?"

"You said Aunt…" she gestured with her hand. The time-traveler thought back.

"Oh.Oh!Aunt Hestia. Yeah. She's one of the few who don't worry me. She's amazing. As long as you say her name with respect, you have nothing to worry about." He grinned.

"So… some of them are… good?" Bianca asked.

Well, if that wasn't a loaded question.

"They'regods, Bianca," Nico said, rolling his eyes.

"That doesn't mean much," Percy heard himself say and internally winced. The other two were looking at him expectantly, though. Great. So was Grover. Grover who was just sitting back and studying him intently, and had been the entire time.

Even better.

Percy sighed. "Greek gods arenotperfect. Far from it." Didn't he know it. "In some cases, I think they're more human than humans. They're used toalwaysgetting their way because of their innate power and… that has had some detrimental effects. They're also tied to the culture that's currently hosting them. They can be selfish, horrible people… but they're not inherentlybad, for the most part. Don't expect perfection though. You'll only be disappointed."

He tried not to think of some of the darker stories about his father or the other gods. To his knowledge, of the Olympian men, only Ares had never forced himself on someone. And wasn't that a mind-screw. He liked Hermes most of the time, and Apollo a lot of the time. He loved his dad, but… he knew the myths.

There was a reason he never wanted to be like them.

"Hey, you okay, man?" Grover asked.

Percy blinked and looked around. Right. On a bus, to his house, with Grover, Nico, and Bianca. Distractions were so…distracting.

Grover's eyes narrowed. Grover who could sense emotions, and who would probably want answers at some point about Percy's strange ones.

Right. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Hopefully, much later.

"Yeah," he shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just… been an adjustment for me too."

The satyr nodded knowingly. Well, at least he bought that. "Yeah. You know a lot for only having been in the know for a year."

Or… maybe not.

"I spent a lot of time with Annabeth. And Aunt Hestia. And Luke."

Grover nodded, but Percy could tell he didn't quite buy it.

Thankfully, before they could say anything else, the bus came to their stop. "Right! Here's where we get off," he said as he stood up and got his bags. Nico and Bianca did the same with Grover's help. Within five minutes, they were walking along the familiar streets of New York, dodging people as they hurried forward.

"Wow," Nico said. "We've been to New York before, but it didn't look likethis."

Percy winced at how drastically things could change in 70 or more years. But they didn't know about that yet. And he couldn't say anything about it. "Yeah, well, it's a big city. You probably were just at a different spot."

Grover was eyeing him again, but at least Nico and Bianca seemed too distracted to tell Percy was hiding something.

"So," Bianca finally said, "about this camp…"

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy said, nodding. "There are a bunch of kids like us who just need a safe place to stay and train. So there's a place just north of here, on Long Island, where a barrier stops monsters from getting in."

"Why don't we just go there when we're born, then?" Nico asked.

Percy smiled sadly. "Well, let's say you grew up and met someone. You had your whole life ahead of you, had just gotten out of school, were dating someone, and then a child comes along. Oh, surprise, that child is half-god. And your significant other? They're a god. They can't stick around for very long. And suddenly you're left with a child who will very much be in danger the moment they find out about their heritage—because the more they know, the more they stand out to monsters. Wouldyouwant to leave behind your entire life to move—sometimes across the country—to some place like that? Where you didn't really know anyone?"

The other two thought about that for a bit.

"No, I suppose not," Bianca finally said softly.

"I would," Nico muttered stubbornly, crossing his arms. Ah, there was a glimpse of the cousin Percy knew.

The time-traveler shook his head. "It's just not feasible for everyone. Besides, I don't think a lot of mortals really understand until the monsters start coming around. Half of them can't even see the monsters."

"What do they see instead?" Bianca asked.

Percy shrugged. "Depends. The Mist is what keeps most mortals safe. It's where most modern-day magic comes from, and it's everywhere—more or less. And what some people see because of it can be… pretty strange. I had a friend who was just attacked by harpies, but everyone just saw birds dive-bombing her." He cringed a little at the memory.

"What's the difference between that magic and our powers?" Nico asked. Percy resisted the urge to shake his head fondly.

"Mainly where it comes from. There is a Titaness—or a goddess—of magic, and she's directly tied to The Mist. But a lot of people can directly manipulate The Mist with enough practice. It's just easier for her children." Right, they were getting Alabaster this year. Percy made a mental note to get to know him and make him feel welcome.

"I want to learn that!" Nico pronounced.

Percy did smile at that. "It takes a lot of dedication and practice. And you'll probably have your own powers to learn to control."

The kid was practically bouncing at this point. "I'm gonna learn it all!"

Percy and Bianca traded a fondly exasperated look.

"Well, let's get you to camp alive, first," Percy said. "Speaking of, here we are!" he pointed to his mother's new apartment building.

"Oh, good," Grover muttered tiredly.

Percy just smiled. "Wait until you guys meet my mom. She's amazing."

With that, he hurried ahead. The others yelped and followed behind.

xXx

His mom had been… surprised.

And then she practically adopted all three of the other kids within minutes. Percy loved his mom. She wasliterallythe best. He would not hear otherwise.

She insisted on making them dinner and setting them all up for the night. The next morning, they'd all get up and go to camp. Percy was glad they didn't go that night. Maybe it was a little more dangerous, but he'dreallywanted to see his mom and spend time with her, even if it wasn't much.

They actually had a fun night watching some Disney movies neither Bianca or Nico had ever even heard of. Such a travesty. Percy made sure to stay away from Hercules and The Little Mermaid. Maybe when they had a little more of a grounding in reality first. Mulan was his first choice, actually. A person going to a camp to train for a war that isn't remotely her fault to keep her family safe? Yeah. That was good preparation.

The kids loved it. And the Lion King. Because the Lion King. These movies (unlike some of the later Disney stuff) were classics, and would last through the following decades… and centuries. In the future, he still had his original copy of The Lion King.

Then, after some more discussion and some hot chocolate with blue marshmallows (and Percy had to describe why blue food was the best), they turned in for the night. It was good to be home, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

Surprisingly, he didn't dream.

He also didn't expect to be woken up the next morning by pounding on the door.

Annoyed and wary, he made sure to turn on the water and form a sword before carefully approaching the door.

"Percy? Is that a monster?" His mother asked, coming out of her own room in her robe, also obviously having just woken up. The three guests in the front room were huddled behind the couch. Grover even had his panpipes out already, though he looked just about as pale as the other two.

"I don't know," Percy muttered.

Then, a familiar voice came from the other side. "Sally! Sally! Open this door! I know you're in there!"

Percy didn't often hear his mother swear, but it was more than deserved. His own eyes narrowed.

"Who is it?" Grover asked. "A monster?"

"Worse," Percy growled. "It'sGabe."

Chapter 3: Baby Deathbreaths and Another Confrontation

Chapter Text

"Did you hear me, you—" whatever Gabe said was drowned out by his pounding.

Percy turned to his mother. "I thought you said you'd handle it."

She shot a dry look at him. "I have, Percy. Let me call the police."

"What?"

"He's violating his restraining order," she said, shrugging.

Percy's eyes narrowed. "Restrain… wait, how often has he come around?"

"Only a couple of times, once he finally tracked down where I'd moved to. It'sfine, Percy."

"It doesn'tseemfine! I still think you should let me handle him."

His mother's next look was even drier. "You cannot just kill him. He's not a monster."

"Are yousureabout that?"

"Percy."

The time-traveler sighed. "Fine. Call the cops. How did he even get in the building?" She sighed and shook her head as she dialed the phone.

"Sally!You open this door right now!"

"Shove it, Smelly Gabe!" Percy yelled to him. Wow. Three hundred years, and that was the best he could do. Trauma and age regression do not mix well.

(He really hoped he could avoidThe Pitthis time… that would undoubtedly be a monumental disaster.)

"Percy, you aren't helping!" his mother said.

"What did you just say to me, brat?"

"I saidgo away. You're not welcome here!" Then he turned to his cousins and Grover. "Sorry about this. He's a really awful guy who thinks the world owes him a living. Mom married him because he smells human, but thankfully divorced him. Even after a trial, apparently, he didn't get the memo."

Grover nodded emphatically. "I can smell him from here." His nose wrinkled.

"Who are you talking to?" Gabe yelled. He had to be drunk. This early in the morning? Or maybe it was late for him?

"None of your business!" Percy shouted back.

"You were… just kidding… about killing him, right?" Nico asked, looking suddenly small.

That took Percy back.Again. Because the Nico he knew would be all for it. Maybe that was because future him lived in the underworld, constantly seeing where everyone went when they died?

He looked at Bianca and Grover, seeing the fear on their faces too, before sighing. "Yeah. Of course. Sorry for scaring you."

Nico and Bianca looked relieved. Grover didn't.

Empath. Right. He'd definitely have to talk to his best friend later.

xXx

The morning was a fiasco, ending with Gabe in handcuffs and a bunch of cops trying to take everyone's statements. They didn't get on the road until almost noon.

"I'm so sorry about this morning," Sally said as she turned out of the apartment complex. "Normally, that doesn't happen, I promise."

"It's not like you could help it, Mrs. Jackson," Grover said. "And between Percy and me, we managed to explain most of it to Bianca and Nico."

"Good," his mom said, sounding relieved. "Because you are all welcome at my apartment at any time you need, and thatwon'thappen again. Not if I can help it."

"Really?" three voices asked, surprised. Percy just kind of smirked at the dark undertone in his mom's voice. And people thought he got his dark streak from his father.

That smirk turned into a grin as his mother nodded firmly, looking at the kids in the rear-view mirror. "Really."

They looked so grateful.

Had Percy mentioned he loved his mom?

Thankfully, the rest of the trip to the Camp was relatively uneventful, with the exception of Percy seeing the Fates and their fruit stand knitting enormous socks again on the side of the road. This time, the string was black, with a sort of translucent, oil-slick kind of color. It was very nice as far as life-yarn went.

It wasn't Luke's. He was sure of it.

He wasn't entirely sure what to feel about that. Part of him definitely felt elated and successful. But part of him…

Who had he condemned in Luke's place?

Well, he supposed he'd find out soon enough. By the end of the summer most likely.

He could deal with this. He chose this. And it was better than the alternative of not doing anything.

(He had to keep believing that.)

xXx

Percy bid his Mom goodbye with a long hug before he turned and made his way up half-blood hill towards the big house. With one last wave, they stepped over the ridge, and he got to see the look on Bianca and Nico's face when they saw the Camp for the first time.

"Wow!" Nico said breathlessly. "This is Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yup!" Percy said, grinning down at the horseshoe of cabins surrounded by areas for activities, the beach in the distance, and the forest. Yeah, there was just something about this particular camp. Also, he realized, this was definitely better than their introduction last time. No Manticores, or the Hunt, or running for their lives… or Thalia and her fear of flying while driving the Sun Chariot…

Actually, now that he thought about it, he hadn't had a normal entrance to camp his first few years. First, the Minotaur, and then the Automaton Bulls in his second year, then riding the Sun Chariot into camp and crashing into the lake…

Well, he was happy to start a new tradition. Hopefully.

At the reminder of his other cousin, he glanced to the side, at Thalia's tree. The sooner they took care of that, the better, but it would probably have to wait until the whole thing with the Master Bolt was handled. Unless something came up that stopped him from going.

Yeah, right. He withheld a sigh and turned to the group again.

"So, Grover," he smiled big, trying to make sure he looked as friendly as he could—no sharpness to this one at all (it was surprisingly difficult, and maybe he should look into that), "why don't you take these two to meet Chiron and Mr. D? I want to go put my bags in my cabin."

"W-wait," Nico said, suddenly unsure. Beside him, Bianca shifted nervously.

"You guys are safe here," Percy assured. "As safe as a demigod can be, in any case. And you said you trust Grover. Good decision in my humble opinion. He's done everything he can, and willkeepdoing everything he can to protect you both, 'cause that's just how he is. If you ever need anything, though, I'm in cabin three. Or by a body of water; we have that lake over there—" he pointed to it, noting that the Athena cabin was just coming back from canoeing— "and then there's the ocean. Sometimes, I may be in the battle arena, practicing or sparring. And I'll be happy to help you however I can.

"But right now," he eyed the Hermes kids currently filing out of cabin eleven, "I have someone I need to talk to, okay?"

The other two still looked uncertain. Which meant Percy couldn't justleave. So he fell back on adding a couple of things he remembered from his time overseeing this particular camp.

"Also, while the introduction movie can be a little… graphic, it can really help. If you can look past its cheesiness. I highly recommend you watch it, just so you have a basic understanding to work from. I'm pretty sure Grover and I have missed a couple of things just because there's so much to go over."

The two exchanged glances. At least they looked a little less nervous. Percy would take that. He nodded to Grover, who took over from there. "He's right. So why not meet the camp director and activity head? Just follow me."

They just needed a little more of a push, so Percy tapped Nico's Mythomagic cards to drive the point home. "Mr. D," he whispered, having explained that earlier. Nico caught on almost immediately and his uncertainty disappeared in a flash.

"No way! That is so cool! Come on, Bianca!" Percy watched his youngest cousin whirl around and make a bee-line for the Big House. His sister seemed surprised, but hurried after him.

"Nico!"

Even Grover had to stumble to keep up. He waved to Percy before bounding after the other two like the half-goat he was.

Percy watched them go, shaking his head fondly. He missed the Nico he remembered, but he could handle this one hanging around for a while. Then he turned and made his own bee-line for the Hermes cabin. They seemed to be heading to lunch, which was perfect.

"Hey, guys!" he called out with a wave as he got close.

"Percy!" Johan, Mara, and Amy all said at once, grinning widely. Chris, Ethan, and the Stolls lit up at seeing him, too. Luke stood in the back of the group, watching Percy warily but calmly. They were leading the new campers to the pavilion. Percy looked them over, smiling warmly (this time he made sure not to showanyteeth, just in case).

Just as he thought, there was Alabaster Torrington, along with a couple of kids he'd fought beside but hadn't known well, and even more he didn't know at all. He could still tell their parents more or less right off the bat. The obvious ones were the Apollo kids and one Athena kid who would probably be claimed by the end of the day (still something he had and would always respect Athena for, and one of the few thing's he'd say to her face too). The others ranged from Ares, to Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and, of course, finishing off with more Hermes kids. The only kid who wasn't a child of one of the main Olympians this year seemed to be Alabaster himself, and the Di Angelos.

"Who is this?" the boy in question asked Luke. Di Immortales, he looked so young.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon," Percy introduced himself before anyone else could. "Just coming to say hi to my friends. Where's Roxanne?"

"Oh, didn't you hear?" Chris asked. "She was claimed by Aphrodite last year, around Christmas."

Percy blinked because no, he hadn't heard that. He'd known who her godly parent was, but hadn't heard about the claiming. It hadn't helped that she'd seemed to grow more and more shy as the previous year wore on, or that Percy had gotten a little side-tracked with Erin and school and the monster attacks and everything. He'd need to fix that.

"Nope. But I'll find her at lunch," he assured. "Though I'd better get my bags put away first. Luke? Mind walking with me to the cabin?" The older boy seemed a little taken back at the request, so Percy clarified. "I'd really like to talk to you about something."

The blond's wariness shot up, but Percy had been polite and mostly friendly (the slightly sharper grin at the end may or may not have been a threat), and he must have decided to get whatever was wrong out of the way, because he nodded, albeit hesitantly.

"Sure. Um, Chris. You're in charge while I'm gone. You know where to go."

"Sure thing," Chris said, grinning. He really did seem happier now that he'd been claimed. Go figure.

"Aww," Travis said, almost pouting, "why not us? I'm older!" He gestured to himself and Connor who looked equally put out.

Luke shot them a dry look. "Because I can trust Chris not to prank every new camper before they get settled. I can't stop you all from stealing everything in sight, but please try and wait a day or two first?"

Percy, and many of the other older campers, laughed at Travis' pout, but no one refuted Luke's claims. Not even the Stolls themselves.

"Alright, everyone! This way!" Chris called out, heading up to the pavilion while Percy turned to trek to his own cabin with a wave. Then he turned his gaze to Luke, keeping the boy within sight until they were walking side-by-side towards cabin three. He only took his eyes off of the son of Hermes when they passed the fire and he saw Aunt Hestia. As always, he smiled and nodded respectfully to her. She nodded back at them kindly, though Percy saw a thoughtful look in her eye.

Speaking of… He sent a mental prayer to her.Aunt Hestia, can you please put up a barrier? Luke and I have to have a talk.

Her smile dimmed, but she nodded solemnly and Percy felt a barrier rise around them. She'd know if any god tried to break through it. Good.

"It's safe to talk," he said.

Luke glanced back at Hestia before fixing his wary gaze on Percy. "So… what did you want to talk about?" he asked slowly.

"You went to Mount Olympus at the solstice, right?" Percy asked, deciding to get right to the point.

The son of Hermes frowned. "Yeah. Like every other demigod here."

Well, at least he'd have a list to work with after he confirmed it wasn't Luke. Because he did have to confirm it.

"I have to ask, Luke: Did you take it?" he asked, tapping into his ability to sense demigod emotions. He didn't like doing it, but he had to know.

Luke looked (and felt) surprised. "Take what? The golden dishes? I mean, we sent them back. We always do. We're not stupid."

Percy took a deep breath, then made sure he calmly opened his cabin door and gestured for Luke to follow him inside. A little reluctantly, he did. Percy could sense his trepidation, and offense, but was that a cover? It could be… even if he didn't know Percy could sense his emotions.

Once they got inside, Luke scanned the room warily, not used to being inside a cabin that wasn't his own. Understandable. Percy closed the door and walked over to his preferred bed, dropping his bags by the side of it before turning to fix Luke with his most neutral stare.

"The Master Bolt, Luke. Did you take the Master Bolt?"

Shock. Shock that showed plainly on the older boy's face. That was genuine. Okay, but was that because Percy had accused him or because he'd figured out—

"That'swhat was stolen?"

Hmm. Still shock. And incredulity. Which could fit either way. Percy nodded slowly.

"Di Immortales…" Luke whispered, hand coming to the side of his head."No wonder the weather's been… wait," he paused, expression (and emotion) switching to disbelief. "Don't tell meIwas the one who stole it last time?"

Percy shrugged in a 'what can you do' gesture, still watching the other teen carefully. Luke's slowly growing horror still reflected on his face.

"What was I, insane?"

A pause. "No, just… desperate. Didn't help that an ancient Titan had been poking and picking at your fatal flaw for who knows how long."

"Di Immortales," Luke said again, running a hand through his hair.

Percy sighed. "I need a 'yes' or 'no', Luke."

That made the older boy blink in surprise. "What? No!" Offense and still horror… and fear, but more at the situation. There was a distinct flavor to 'being found out' that Luke did not have.

Percy let out a long breath, both relieved and disappointed. Relieved because he'd helped Annabeth's family, disappointed because now he had no idea who else to look at.

"Good."

"I mean, I won't say Kro—The Crooked one didn'ttry. Ended up with a few dreams here and there, but I told him to go… um…" He coughed, anger and frustration melting back into wariness. "Take a long walk off of a short pier."

Percy snorted. "Iwasthe camp director in the future, Luke. I'm not now. I won't get upset at you for swearing unless it's in front of kids."

"You're a kid," he muttered, though Percy could sense his relief.

The time-traveler shrugged. "With three-hundred years of memories."

"You still look—and usually act—like you're twelve." Petulance and embarrassment.

"You would too if you were shoved in your twelve-year-old body," Percy pointed out.

"Back on track," Luke said abruptly, obviously not wanting to think about that particular possibility (fair, Percy knew what he'd gone through), "why does Kr… um… the Crooked one want the Master Bolt? Can he even use it? I thought it was for… the King of the gods alone."

"It's stronger with him, but anyone can theoretically use it," Percy said quietly, then ran a hand through his hair. "Luke, even out of Uncle Z's hands, it's one of the most powerful weapons that has ever been created. The weapons they have are part of what makes the Big Three, the Big Three. The Crooked One himself has a weapon too, given to him by his mother to destroy his father." He paused, frowning. "Speaking of, you wouldn't happen to have found a new sword recently, would you? One that can kill both mortals and immortals."

Annoyance, frustration, offense, and more horror. Luke took a deep breath. "I get why you're asking this, but again, no. It wasn't me. Not this time. I like to switch up swords to keep me on my toes anyway. I use random ones in the armory. Haven't noticed any new ones."

Truth.

Percy withdrew from Luke's emotions and nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Sorry. Like I said, I had to ask."

Luke returned the nod. "And like I said, I get it."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Percy straightened up. "Alright. Looks like we need to start looking for a new traitor. It would help if anyone got a new weapon recently?"

"That… won't be as easy as you think," Luke warned. "Most kids who went to Olympus got something from their parents. Clarisse got a spear, Annabeth got a baseball cap that turns her invisible—for her twelfth birthday, just half a year late," he sounded annoyed and bitter, but not as biting as he had in Percy's memories so he let it slide. "Even I got a magic lock-pick set. Most of the Hermes kids got something along those lines, too."

"Great," Percy muttered. Then he sighed and strode past Luke to the door. "Could you get me a list of everyone who went to Mount Olympus, then?"

The blond studied him for several seconds before nodding and following him out of the cabin. "I'm the senior counselor this year, so I should be able to. I'll ask Chiron."

This time, Percy shot him a real smile as they began to head back to the pavilion. "Thanks, Luke. That'll be a huge help.

"Now, about the two new kids I brought with me…"

Luke didn't groan, but he did sigh. "Do I want to know?"

Percy shrugged. "I did know them in the future. Just know the younger one especially can hold grudges like none other. But if you give him respect, he'll respect you back."

"Why do I get the feeling that they're going to be really involved in things?"

The time traveler shrugged, then waved at Hestia again as they walked by. Her smile seemed warmer this time, more relaxed and relieved. The barrier she placed around them fell and he sent her a quick thank you prayer. She nodded at him again. He should probably talk to her about everything. And his father too, now that he was back at camp and it would be safer to do so. Especially with Aunt Hestia around.

After lunch, though.

"Do you know who their godly parent is?" Luke asked tiredly. Right. Nico and Bianca.

Percy didn't flinch, but it was a near thing.

"Not my secret to tell. Besides, if their parent found out I knew… let's just say, I amnotlooking forward to meeting them anyway, but this would just draw more attention from everyoneandmake it ten times worse with their godly parent."

"When you meet them… is that alluding to something that will happen this summer? Or just their nature in general?"

Percy considered that. "Both."

Luke rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be one ofthosesummers, isn't it." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, probably," Percy said, apologetically.

The older boy opened his mouth to say something, but a shout cut them off.

"Luke!" Both boys paused and turned to look behind them to see a small sea of blond signifying Athena's children. Annabeth was running towards them, though she faltered when she saw Percy.

"Percy."

He hated the wariness in her voice, but chose to ignore it, smiling brightly at her instead. It wasn't difficult to smile warmly at her. Naturally.

"Annabeth," he said.

"Percy was just telling me about some kids he brought with him to camp," Luke said.

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. He wasn't entirely sure what she thought of that, so Percy decided to clarify, just in case.

"Well, Grover really found them. They were on their way here to camp when he saw me. They had some monsters on their tail so I helped them out."

"So Grover found both you and them?" Annabeth asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

Percy nodded. Of course she would catch onto that. "I was on my way home from boarding school."

"Boarding school?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," the time-traveler nodded. "One of the only schools my Mom could get me into. I… kind of got kicked out of too many others. Weird things happen to me, and of course I get blamed for it. Though the thing with the kids and the shark tank made a lot more sense once I found out about my heritage."

"Shark tank?" Annabeth yelped.

"No one got hurt," Percy said. "Besides, sharks are adorable. Like dogs, but in the sea."

Annabeth joined Luke in rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I'm not sure I want to know."

"It's a Poseidon thing."

"Oh, now you can say names," Luke muttered, though he didn't sound annoyed.

"He's myDad," Percy said. "And he's a fairly decent one as far as godly parents go." At least Percy could trust him, more or less.

The two blonds exchanged a look, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway," Percy said as they started up towards the pavilion, "I think you'll like these kids, Annabeth." Or, at least she'd like Bianca. It had taken her a while to warm up to Nico, though that was probably due to circ*mstances—circ*mstances Percy hoped he could prevent this time around.

"They're not… yours, are they?" Annabeth asked quietly. Luke snorted. Percy shot him a glare before looking back at her.

"No." He'd only ever had two kids. Both with her. Well, another her from another timeline. He needed to remember that. And he usuallydid, but still…

"Well, then, who's their—" Annabeth started, but shouts and exclamations from the pavilion drew their attention. Glancing at each other, the trio broke into a run. They got to the dining area just in time to see two symbols spinning over Percy's cousins' heads. A curved 'Y' shape with a floating dot in the center, making it look like a wizard's staff. It glowed black.

A claiming symbol.

"Already?" he asked, surprised. Meanwhile, Luke took him up on his offer of not getting upset at swearing while Annabeth stared in open-mouthed shock. Even Mr. D looked surprised. And a bit pale.

Finally, Chiron stepped forward. "The bloodline is determined," he said quietly. "Hades—King of the Underworld and Earth, Giver of Wealth. Hail Bianca and Nico, children of the God of the Dead."

"Well," Percy whispered to Luke as they all bowed, "now you see why I didn't say."

Luke cursed again.

Chapter 4: Paranoia Sucks

Chapter Text

The entire camp (minus Percy) remained in shock for the rest of lunch. Up to and including the siblings themselves.

Unsurprisingly, Nico got over it faster. Excitedly, he ran up to Percy after he'd finished eating his sandwiches, plopping down right next to him like he didn't even care. Percy decided he really didn't mind, and if his father didn't either, they were fine.

"Did you see, Percy?!" he asked excitedly. "Did you?"

Percy smiled and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, I did. Congrats."

"I think Bianca's still… what did you say she needed to do earlier? Process?"

Another nod as Percy took a sip from his blue co*ke. "Yup. It just means she has to come to terms with it. She's gone through a lot in these last few days, so be patient with her."

Nico harrumphed and began to lay his cards out on the table. "I went through just as much."

Percy looked between the two siblings. Bianca was sitting by herself, kind of staring at her half-eaten plate of food like she didn't even see it.

"She's had to take care of you too, you know," he said slowly. "She's probably also trying to think how this will affect both of you."

Nico thought about that, tipping his head to one side. "Oh! Because she's my big sister, right?!"

Well, he wasn't wrong. So Percy nodded. "So she has twice as much to think about."

"I can think for myself."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You're ten."

"So?"

The older demigod snickered. "You'll get it one day."

"I hate it when adults say that to me."

"I'm not an adult," Percy pointed out. It was true as far as Nico knew.

To his surprise, his cousin turned and scrutinized him with a very nostalgically Nico expression, serious and contemplating. The change was so abrupt, it took Percy back a little.

"Maybe… but your inside doesn't match your outside."

The time-traveler stiffened a little. "What do you mean?"

Nico frowned. "I… don't know how else to say it. But your inside is… older."

That… was probably his demigod power showing through. Still, Percy didn't want to tell this ten-year-old about his background, so he shrugged. "If you say so."

Nico huffed and went back to his cards.

xXx

Percy helped them get settled after lunch. They'd be staying in the Hermes cabin, after all. The camp really needed to get on that whole 'build all of the gods a cabin' thing.

The others in the Hermes cabin seemed a little stand-offish, naturally, but when Percy called them 'cousins' in front of the entire cabin and dragged a couple of the others into talking with them, it got better. Ethan was especially receptive, which was fair, seeing as their respective godly parents had somewhat negative reputations.

Percy found that a little silly. Hades was one of the more fair and straight-forward gods he'd met. Sure, he was grumpy, but who wouldn't be in his position?

They also commiserated about not having their own cabins, which Percy completely agreed with them about. He reiterated that he was going to make sure that changed and would love all of their help. By the end of the night, even Bianca seemed on board. At least she was participating in everything again.

Surprisingly, Alabaster decided to join their little group too, and by the time dinner came around, Percy was sure both Alabaster and the Di Angelos were feeling better about their time at camp, though he would still keep an eye on it. During dinner he watched them sit at the Hermes table and talk with a contented smile.

"You seem awfully happy," Dionysus' voice made Percy stiffen. He turned to see the god floating by his table, drinking from his goblet nonchalantly. "Glad our cousins have found their place?"

Percy went back to his own meal. He still had a fair amount to get through himself, even though he'd sacrificed a lot of it to Hestia, his Father, and Hades. Wouldn't hurt to get on his good side, after all. "Something like that," he said casually, popping some grapes into his mouth.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with your new, personal domains, would it?"

He didn't freeze, but it was a near thing. Instead, he didn't answer, but kept eating. He was almost finished when Dionysus sighed.

"I'm here to take you to Olympus."

That got a reaction out of him. "Wait, what?" Percy asked, almost choking as he turned to stare in incredulity.

"You've been summoned." The god said it so… calmly. Like he didn't care at all. Which was so Dionysus.

"Why?"

The god shot him a dry look over his sunglasses. "Please. Even if Ididknow, do you think I'd tell you?"

Of course not. That would mean Percy would beprepared, and they couldn't have that now, could they?

With an annoyed roll of his eyes, Percy downed the rest of his drink and then got up, snatching the rest of the food on the plate. He was still hungry, after all.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Before he'd even extracted himself from the table entirely, Dionysus had grabbed him and flashed them out of there. Apparently he didn't care to be discreet. Of course not. So few of the Olympians even knew the meaning of the word.

The next thing Percy knew, he stood outside the Olympian throne room, Dionysus standing next to him in that awful Hawaiian shirt. Because, of course.

At least Poseidon made Hawaiian shirts look good.

Shaking his head, Percy looked around at the white marble surrounding them. It looked so… old-fashioned. Beautiful, but Annabeth's reworking was better in his opinion. He may be slightly biased. He'd almost forgotten what Olympus looked like before the Battle of Manhattan.

Would that even happen this time around? And if not, was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Shaking his head, he glanced over at his godly companion. "So. Will this be a full council meeting then?"

Dionysus shot a suspicious look at him, but didn't say anything. Instead he just opened the doors and strode in, happy to show off all his flabby glory. Percy sighed and took a bite from his remaining roll as he followed the god inside.

Turned out, it was a full council meeting. Even Hades was there. Percy shot him a smile and a wave before he continued looking around the room. Everyone else was watching him intently. His father looked particularly stormy. He met Percy's eyes and nodded slightly. So it was something his father thought he could get out of. Okay. He'd probably still have to tread carefully though.

Once he stood in front of Zeus, he sighed inwardly and bowed. The guy was the King of the Gods after all, even if Percy had almost no respect for him.

The time-traveler also didn't speak until spoken to. He could sass later if they really got on his nerves… which, they probably would.

Some things never change.

"Perseus Jackson," Zeus thundered—literally. Lightning flashed outside with the loud noise. Percy didn't flinch, but he did feel his destructive side perk up. Nothing he couldn't handle of course, but sometimes he really hated how much power names had. Even for him now.

"You stand accused of stealing the Master Bolt! How do you plead!"

Oh, that was so like Zeus. Not even letting him have an actual trial.

Percy glanced at his father, who once again nodded. Then he grinned, knowing it was a little sharp.

"I, Perseus Jackson, swear on the River Styx that I have not stolen the Master Bolt, am not knowingly involved with anyone who stole the Master Bolt, and have not ever even been to Olympus before today in this lifetime. I plead 'not guilty'."

That made everyone in the room freeze. Next to Zeus, his father hid a smile. Poorly. Likely on purpose. He didn't expect much else.

Percy also heard a snort behind him, and glanced back to see Hades on his not-throne also hiding a smile. Right, he'd known because of Alecto. Of course he hadn't told the other gods. Percy shot him another conspiring grin before turning back to Zeus. Who looked even angrier than before.

"Then where is it?!" he practically shouted.

The time-traveler shrugged and took another bite of food. "Probably with whoever stole it." Percy contemplated his options for a moment, then decided to go for it. "Lord Ares should know."

More outraged yells. If he'd been his original, twelve-year-old self, Percy would have buckled under the sheer presences in the room, let alone the fear. As it was, he was able to counter with power of his own, just enough to keep him able to stand nonchalantly.

"You'reeating?" Hera raged as Percy took another bite.

He blinked innocently at her. "Well, yeah. My dinner was interrupted."

"Impertinent, disrespectful brat."

Huh. And here he thought Hera had hated Annabeth more than himself. Well, if he could get that scrutiny off of his… friend this time around, then all the better.

"My Lady Hera," he said dryly, with no reverence whatsoever. "Respect isearned. Power doesn't earn respect, it earns fear. And if you want fear in the form of respect, well, that's up to you. I refuse to fear you or anyone though. And for me, the only people in this room who have earned respect are my father—because I know hetried. When it comes to me and mine, he tried. Also, Aunt Hestia." He turned to the hearth in the center and smiled at the girl he found there, bowing in respect. "Because everything she does shows how much she cares, both for the rules and for those around her."

Many of the gods were spluttering now. He loved doing that to them.

"And last, but not least, Lord Hades, who obviously cares for his children and has been one of the most fair and straight-forward figures in Greco-Roman history."

Hades seemed surprised, but no less pleased for it. Percy did notice a couple of flickers here and there when he mentioned 'Roman', but nothing more. He wondered what they thought of his wording.

"Why we should care about a demigod's respect aside," Athena said dryly, "why do you think my brother would know about the Master Bolt?"

Percy eyed her contemplatively, then shrugged. "I have prophetic dreams. Not about the future, but about the present." He shot a look at Apollo, who seemed surprised. Percy took another bite of food.

They didn't have to know that he hadn't actually had a dream about it. He hadn't lied.

"What happened in this dream?" Demeter asked slowly, neutrally.

"Lord Ares ran into someone—I couldn't see who—demanded the bolt back, and then… another presence seemed to… I don't know, seep into him? His head? I'm… not entirely sure. And it… changed—"

"That didn't happen!" Ares roared, shooting to his feet.

"Lord Dionysus?" Percy asked, turning to the Camp Director. "Can you confirm that?"

He was watching Percy with narrowed eyes again, and didn't say anything.

"You dare, you brat?" Ares hissed, a sword appearing in his hand. "You—"

"He's right!" Dionysus said suddenly, sounding shocked. Several other gods turned their gazes on him in surprise.

"And there's Lord Dionysus earning my respect," Percy said with a smile as he took his last bite of food "After all, if this is a trial, I need to come forward with all the information I have, right? Although it would have been nice to be able to come more prepared." Good thing he'd been expecting something like this for a while.

And he also may be acting a little more like he did towards the council in the future, buthabits.

"What do you mean?" Zeus asked Dionysus, ignoring Percy completely. Which was, on second thought, probably for the best.

"There's another presence in Ares' mind… or the residue of one."

Percy's father was eyeing him with a frown, not a disapproving one, but one that said he was trying to figure something out. Percy just shrugged, then sent a prayer to him.

Hey, Dad! Yes, this is something I knew from the future. Hope that helps!

Poseidon's eyes widened ever so slightly, but then he smiled again—small but there—and nodded.

Percy turned around and saw Athena watching them suspiciously. He smiled at her and took another bite, just to show how unbothered he was.

"There," Dionysus said, and Ares cried out, falling to his knees. Zeus must have ordered that or it wouldn't have happened in the throne room.

Then the war god let out a string of curse words ranging from Greek, to English, to Latin, and at least two other languages, one of which he couldn't even place.

"What happened?" Zeus asked, almost sounding worried. Huh, there was a first time for everything.

Ares shot Percy a poisonous look. The demigod just kept standing there with a nearly empty plate of food in his hands, quiet and calm… if smug. Then the god looked up at his father.

"I don't know who it was, but that presence was something… powerful. And old."

Whispers ran around the council room.

Zeus ignored them. "Who has my Master Bolt?"

"I don't know," Ares said. "It was… a kid. A boy, I think. Really generic… and I don't remember more than that." He said it through gritted teeth. Huh, he really looked to be in pain. Was it because of his bruised ego or something Kronos did?

Hmm. It took a lot to actively hurt an immortal like that. Which meant Percy did sympathize—empathize to an extent even. However, that didn't mean he couldn't jump on it and use this to his advantage. (He may owe Ares one later… maybe.)

"You don't remember, and I couldn't see them…" Percy said. He didn't have to fake his concern as everyone, including Ares, turned to look at him. He had enough concerning things in his life to draw from, and Kronos wasdefinitelyone of them. "Who would be able to manipulate such a powerful and established god like Lord Ares?"

"You givehimrespect, then?" Athena asked dryly.

Percy shot her an unimpressed look. "It's a fact, Lady Athena. The Olympians have been established for well over two thousand years. It may not be that long to most gods, but it's definitely long enough to be established. Also, all Olympians, especially on the Council, are powerful in their own right. I don't necessarily respect or disrespect Lord Ares as I haven't yet met him outside of this room."

She looked thoughtful. Ares still looked like he was about ready to kill Percy, which… eh, par for the course. Ares had hated him last time too. Of course, last time, Percy hadn't called him out in front of all the other gods. He needed to at least keep that in mind going forward.

"What exactly are you saying, child?" Zeus asked, blue eyes narrowing.

Percy held up his hands innocently. "I was just asking a question. Who could influence the mind of one of the twelve Olympians?"

"It's a fair question," Athena said quietly, still studying him. He couldn't read the look on her face and didn't know quite what to think. When Annabeth looked like that, she was about to go manic on something—a project, or a puzzle, or a goal (or all of the above)…

None of those sounded great when involving him and Athena in the same sentence.

Styx.

Still, he had to plant the seed of Kronos in their heads. The sooner the better. Foreveryone'ssake. He couldn't back down now.

"Please forgive me, Lady Athena, but… could a Primordial be involved?"

Sudden shouts from all around the room had him raising his eyes at Apollo, Hermes, and Artemis, surprisingly enough.

"Highly doubtful," Athena said when everyone had calmed down a little. "Primordials have a distinct flavor, and there would have to be overlap in their domains." She frowned and turned to Ares. "Where did you meet this child?"

Ares looked surprised. "Um… I was in the sky, in my chariot. They were on the ground, in the city."

"Day or night?"

"Er… Day."

Athena turned back to Percy, nodding as if Ares had just confirmed something. "Of the only two Primordials who could have affected Lord Ares, one is dead, and the other is highly unlikely, if only because of how not-subtle she tends to be."

"Hemera?" Demeter asked, sounding intrigued.

"Yes, why don't you just give it away to her," Athena said, annoyed. "In any case, I can investigate, if that is alright with you, Father." The war goddess turned to Zeus, who still looked about ready to stamp around like an angry child. Still par for the course.

"Yes, yes. Now where is my bolt?"

Percy mentally fist-pumped. Zeus may actually listen to Athena. If she figured out it was Kronos, and she had some proof…

Well, it was too soon to plan on it, but he could hope, right?

"We'll have to send someone on a quest," Hera said firmly. "That will be the fastest way to find it. Besides, it would take a demigod to steal a symbol of power." And to steal it back. That was fair enough.

Percy waited for them to assign him to it.

"Wait…" Zeus said. Percy tensed. He didn't like that tone voice.

The King of the Gods turned on his oldest brother. "Hades. Why are you still here? You vouched for this boy and wanted to be here for the trial. We allowed it. The trial has been decided."

Hades frowned. "Merely watching," was all he said, albeit with no small amount of disdain.

Zeus shook his head. "No… no, I had it all wrong. Not Poseidon,you."

Uh-oh,Percy thought, looking back and forth between the two brothers.

"What, exactly, are you accusing me of, brother?" Hades asked, rising to his feet as darkness began to seep into the air around him.

"You just claimed some brats! Brats that were here, in Manhattan!"

"Yes. And?"

"Ignoring that you broke the oath as well," Hera put in slyly. Hades didn't even deign to look at her (probably to tick her off… and oh, look, it was working).

"I was focusing on one of my brothers' whelps. Just, apparently, the wrong brother."

Oh, great. More threatening without any evidence. This was going downhill fast… and Percy had no idea how to stop it.

"You dare?!" Hades thundered. It kind of hurt Percy's ears.

"Of course, I dare! It makes sense!"

"How does it make sense when my own symbol was stolen as well?"

That brought the entire room to a halt and Percy breathed a sigh of relief. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his father, who was also watching the rest of the Council warily.

"You… lost your helmet?" Hephaestus asked, surprised.

"No," Hades practically hissed, "it wasstolen."

"And why did you not come forward with this information before?" Athena asked.

The god of the dead snorted. "As if any of you would actuallycare. You all sit up here on Olympus, ignoring my very existence."

"That's not true, brother," Hestia said, sounding sad, the first time she'd spoken the entire meeting. Hades just glanced at her, and while his expression softened, it didn't seem to do much else.

Then Zeus spoke. Of course. "Retribution."

Everyone froze again.

"What?" Poseidon asked. Percy stepped a little closer to him. If he had to get out of there because the gods started revealing their true forms, his Father would be the best bet.

"Your helm was stolen, so you stole my bolt."

To Athena's credit, she looked like she wanted to strangle someone. Probably her father.

"Your paranoia knows no bounds," Hades said haughtily, a tone of death—like old paper crumbling or the creaking of dry bones—sneaked into his voice. And it was getting hard to hold back the gods' auras with the power Percy currently had. "Please, keep going off on ridiculously preposterous tangents that support that paranoia instead of trying to figure out therealculprit."

"Prove it, then!"

Another pause.

"What?" Hades asked. Oh, he was just getting angrier.

"Prove that you are not the one who stole it! Sendyourchildren out to find my bolt! Have them bring it back to me by the solstice, and maybe I won't go towaragainst you!"

Everyone seemed horrified at his threat. Except Ares, of course. Because Ares. He looked ecstatic.

"Or he could swear on the Styx like I did," Percy interrupted.

"Percy!" Poseidon hissed, but Zeus was already turning to him.

"That wouldn't retrieve my bolt now, would it?"

"I'll do it, then!" Percy said. "I'll find it and bring it back!"

"That wouldn't prove anything," Zeus dismissed. Then he paused. "Although, I should kill you for your insubordination and disrespect."

"Do not dare, brother," Poseidon said, stepping in front of Percy. "He has done nothing wrong."

"Neither havemychildren!" Hades shouted. He was beginning to glow a little. Percy hid his eyes. Just in case. Attending one of these meetings as a god sucked. Attending as a demigod sucked far more.

"Send one then. I care not which," Zeus said to Hades, even though he didn't take his eyes off of Poseidon. "If they fail, I know you were the one to steal it. If not—"

"Then we have the real culprit, as Lord Hades suggested," Athena said, stepping in. Percy had to give her credit for that shiny, shiny spine. "As for Lord Poseidon's son," he took it back as she turned to them, a sneer of distaste barely coloring her expression. "Send him on a quest as well."

"What?!" Poseidon said, growing larger. Percy pushed more of his own power out, having to concentrate on doing so now.

"I-I'm going with my cousin," Percy got out, but several gods laughed.

"Both of my brother's children, on a quest to retrievemybolt?" Zeus asked, disdainful. "Please." Great. Then why didn't he askJasonor something? He should be in the Fifth Cohort by this point in the timeline. Should even have a reputation. But no, he had to send either Nico or Bianca. Nico who was Percy's friend, and Bianca who… had died because of him. He couldn't let that happen again.

"No, I have to go," Percy said, hating how he was beginning to sound desperate.

"Why? So you can save your cousin from my wrath when they are exposed?" Zeus mocked. Percy almost reached out to grab a hold of his ichor and then they'd see who was worth mocking… except he knew that would take more power than he had at the moment. It would kill him or, more likely, force him to ascend. And he couldn't do that. He had too many people he had to help. Too many things he had to do.

So, with some difficulty, he swallowed his anger back.

"You want your bolt back, don't you?!" he said instead.

"So you know where it is?" Zeus asked.

"No! I swore it on the Styx and I swear it again!" Thunder rumbled outside as the King of the Gods scowled.

"Then, for your impertinence—"

"Brother, he is no more impertinent than any other demigod these days," Poseidon said, obviously trying to sound calm, but the rumbling of water falling over itself and waves crashing clearly portrayed his displeasure.

Percy bit his lip. This had gone way too far. He needed to go after Bianca… but they wouldn't let him. Which meant she'd have to choose other companions. And more than three people on a quest made itverydifficult to get everyone back alive. That hadn't changed in the future either. He wasn't about to put her in dangeragain.What if him showing up was what killed her?

However… showing up on a quest and then leaving again didn't really count in that. He'd seen something like that happen hundreds of times in the future. So if he was in contact with her, he could just water travel to her group if she needed help. Yes. That could work. Except that he'd need to be outside of the camp borders, or Dionysus would know, and may try to stop him, like he had before when he'd gone after Annabeth during the quest for Artemis. However, being on his own quest could help him be ready to save her life.

Because he would. He couldn't let Nico down again. Never again. And even without Nico in the picture, he couldn't, in good conscience, let her die withouttrying.

So he had to go on his own quest. Just as Athena had suggested. She'd likely said it to get on Poseidon's nerves, but it had worked in his favor, so he wouldn't hold it against her too much.

Besides, he knew just the quest.

Around him, the gods were still arguing. He was practically squashed into his father's side at this point—his father who had brought out his trident, and that had apparently gotten both Zeus and Hades criticism because of the reminder that their symbols had been taken…

Really hoping he wasn't making a mistake, Percy took a deep breath.

"I know how to save Thalia!"

Everyone froze and thirteen (no, fourteen with Aunt Hestia, because he could never leave her out) pairs of eyes fell on him.

Finally, Zeus spoke, sounding far more calm, though it could be the calm before the storm. It fit him.

"What did you just say?"

Percy took another breath. "Your daughter, Thalia, right? She's the spirit of the tree on top of Half-Blood Hill, which means she could be in some sort of suspended animation. Right? Waiting to be healed."

Hera looked like she'd swallowed a lemon, and Percy's Father's eyebrows had gotten very near his hairline. Still, the time-traveler pushed on. "I know this because I've had other dreams, about an island in the Sea of Monsters… an island with a golden fleece."

Silence met his words before everything exploded in sound louder than ever. Even as he covered his ears, he knew he had them. He grinned.

Chapter 5: Of Gifts and Fallout

Chapter Text

To say Percy was upset would be an understatement, but at least he wasn't about ready to sink an island or two. His father on the other hand…. He hadn't Percy was sure (he'd asked) but there may be a couple of nasty freak storms on the sea tonight. The god paced back and forth inside his temple on Olympus while Percy sat on a chair he'd conjured, watching him. At least his father had erected a barrier so no one with less power than him could listen in without a serious and obvious attempt. Kronos still could, probably, if he could get enough power together, but it was something.

"Dad, come on," he finally said. "It had to happen anyway."

"Next year!" his father said back. "You said it happenednext year. So why now?"

Percy sighed. "Because I want to be in a position to be able to help Bianca if I can. And Thalia."

His father paused. "Help Bia… Percy, getting back fromonequest is hard enough. Taking on responsibility for her quest could kill you!"

"So?" Percy asked tiredly. "Then I'll ascend. Ifshedies, shedies. And I can't let that happen to her again."

"Again?" Poseidon looked confused for just a moment before his expression cleared. "She died in the previous timeline, didn't she." Percy looked down, remaining silent. He took that as assent. "Did she mean something to you?"

Percy blinked, surprised. "What? Mean… no. I mean, other than the fact that she died on my watch, and is my cousin, but… she means something to one of my best friends. Also," he sighed, "I'm a—was a god of demigods. It hurt me whenever they died. It hurt me before I ascended. I… can't just do nothing."

Poseidon, in a very human motion, rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Percy, I am more than pleased to have another child join me for eternity. Especially one of my demigods. But the Fates told you your ascension would happen, correct?" Percy nodded slowly, wondering where his father was going with this.

"More or less. There is a chance I won't…"

Poseidon took another breath. "That's still very straightforward for them. They're not usually that clear and open. I fear we are missing something."

Percy opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it again. His father had a point. Was there another meaning to his ascension? The Fates had used that exact word, so…

Maybe he should be a little more careful until they figured that out.

Still…

"I can't just leave her, Dad. Ican't. I couldn't live with myself if I did."

His father just looked frustrated. "How would you help her, then? Your quests go in opposite directions."

"Just like how I helped Erin: water travel to where she is."

"And if she's not by water connected to the sea?"

Percy frowned, but felt his spine straighten. "Ihaveto try, Dad. Only then will I know I did the best I could to help her. Right now Icanget involved in quests without all those godly rules getting in my way. I'm going to take advantage of it."

Poseidon sighed again, "Percy…" he started, but faded off when he met his son's gaze. "I can't talk you out of this, can I." It wasn't a question.

"I'm sure you could find a way, but it would likely damage our relationship."

His father looked at him, concerned, but didn't say anything.

Percy let out a long breath. "It's a three-century-old regret, and I have a chance to fix it. I know I can change things so that they're different—for betterorworse—but I wouldn't be myself if I didn't try."

Poseidon's expression grew sad and his shoulders slumped. "Where did you get that from? I don't think you got it from me."

The time-traveler smirked. "There's this really amazing woman, I think you've met her. Her name's Sally Jackson."

His father laughed, sadly for some reason, but it was a genuine laugh. "Ah yes, the queen among women. That makes sense."

Percy's own smile widened. "I'll be fine, Dad. I know what I'm doing." It was nice, this time, to talk to his Dad like this, especially as a demigod. He still remembered their awkward first interaction in his last timeline, when his father had basically called him a mistake. He'd explained himself later, saying he hadn't thought of Percy as a mistake, but as theresultof Poseidon's mistake—the one who would carry the punishment he did not deserve. Apparently, the way Percy took it hadn't even crossed the god's mind this time.

Currently, Poseidon's smile dimmed at Percy's words. "You say you'll be fine… and I hope so, but I fear you're biting off too much. That can have dire consequences."

The time-traveler nodded firmly. "I can do it, though. I have so much more knowledge and exponentially more resources this time. I can do it." He had to. There was no other outcome.

Another sigh from the god. "Very well, son. Just… be careful. It's been a long time since I had prophecy as one of my domains, but I foresee rough waters in your future."

Percy snorted. "What else is new?"

His father's brow furrowed, whether in worry or confusion, Percy didn't know. Finally, his father snapped his fingers. Something long, ivory, and curved fell into his hands. Percy could see intricate carvings of two-tailed merpeople going about their daily lives carved into the outside of it.

He blinked. "Dad?"

"For you," he held it out to him. "It is a horn made from the tusk of one of the oldest and most loyal walruses that has ever lived. He gave his tusks to me upon his death, though only one was still intact enough to be made into this."

Gently, Percy took the horn, noting how the carvings seemed to move out of the corner of his eye. It was, honestly, gorgeous. He turned his gaze back up to the god of the sea. "For me?" His father nodded. "But… you didn't give this to me last time."

"I must not have sensed it would be needed," Poseidon shrugged. "If you blow on this, especially when in the water, it will strengthen your allies, and only your allies. All who hear it."

"But…" Percy said slowly.

His father smiled, amused. "But that strength will come fromyou. The more people you share it with, the faster it will drain you."

Percy stared at the textured horn. "I…" He swallowed and looked back up. "Thanks, Dad."

Poseidon just nodded, but it was enough.

xXx

Mr. D was supposed to flash him back to camp once he was finished speaking with his father, but more than one god was waiting outside for some reason. Zeus himself, even. He'd gone on about why did they have a shield up if they didn't have anything to hide and how dare they hide things from him. His father just rolled his eyes and said not even the King of the Gods was entitled to private talks between a father and son. Then, of course, they'd started bickering.

Thankfully, Mr. D told Percy in a condescending voice to follow him away from Poseidon's temple and away from the arguing siblings, so they could get back to camp. Percy followed, but glanced over his shoulder with a shake of his head. He didn't remember things being so…volatilein the future. To be fair, between the rising of a strong enemy and all of the prophecies suddenly being fulfilled, it wasn't unexplained or unexpected at this point in time, but it was still childish. And kind of embarrassing that his father still took part in it. The Olympians werethousandsof years old. More than once, Percy had felt like a babysitter trying to keep a bunch of kids in line with no real power to do so. Despite his current status, it still kind of felt that way.

The time traveler and camp director had just stepped out of sight of the bickering gods when someone called out to them.

"Brother! Percy Jackson! Just the pair I wanted to see." Percy and Mr. D turned to see Apollo hurrying towards them in all his sun-touched glory. No, really, he literally glowed in the darkness and otherwise beamed happily. Percy had to fight to not look away. He could tone it down and not blind the mortal in their midst.

Dionysus snorted. "Really?"

"Well, I did want to say something to Percy here."

"Naturally. Whyever would you want to talk to me? We're only family. Have been for how long?" Yeah, that exile was really getting to Mr. D.

"If you want me to stop by more often I'll be happy to!" Apollo assured his brother, clapping him on the shoulder.

Dionysus reached up and removed the arm almost disdainfully. "And what would we do now that I can't drink?"

"Well we could…" Apollo started, but then faded off, puzzled. Percy withheld a snort of his own. "You like games."

"You're terrible at Pinochle."

"Not bad at poker, though."

"I'll pass. Say what you will to Parker, here. Just hurry. I would likesomebeauty sleep tonight."

With that, he strode away.

"What's with him?" Apollo asked. "I'll have to find a good game, I guess. Anyway, Percy!" the blond turned to the demigod with straight, white teeth showing. "I have to saythank youfor what you did for Erin earlier this year."

In the original timeline, that would have taken Percy back; well, before the whole Triumvirate debacle (was that something he should look into now? Hmm, he'd have to think about it). Now, though, he knew Apollo better. The guy wasn't usually malicious (although when he was he could bemean, though Percy thought Artemis had him beat there) and tended to come off as more flaky than he really was. Percy thought he donned that persona so people wouldn't expect so much of him. It only worked so well, but any success meant it was worth it to Apollo. Still, he knew the god cared for his children. Right now, almost as much as he cared for himself. Hey, the guy was narcissistic. But then, name a god other than Hestia who wasn't. He'd wait.

"Oh, er, you're welcome," Percy said, noting how real the god's smile looked for once. Yeah. He cared. And it was nice to see that every now and then. "I mean, I would have done it for anyone I could have, but yeah."

"I know how much work you put into making sure there was a way to Colorado from New York," the Sun-god said. Percy didn't wince, but he had to hold himself awfully still to pull it off. Right. He'd prayed to Apollo, who would have sensed the dedication and preparation behind his actions, even if he didn't know details. It was something any god could hear regarding their domain, or in this case, Apollo's child.

"Well… she told me where she lived. Not many others did. I… wanted to make sure she had backup if she needed it."

The blond shook his head. "You're too modest. Not something I understand, but to each their own. In any case, about your quest… you're going to have to go through some pretty tough trials in the near future." Didn't he know it. "And to pay you back for helping Erin, I spoke with Hermes. It's likely you'll need these."

The sun god held out a familiar bottle, small but sturdy, with small pills in different shapes inside of it: yellow Minotaurs, purple harpies, green Hydras, etc. On the front, it said: Hermes Multivitamins. Percy stared at them. Right. He really was going back to the sea of monsters. It hadn't really hit him before, but… di immortales.

After several seconds, he took a deep breath and reached for them. He almost expected Apollo to snatch the bottle away, but he didn't. Percy's hand closed around the bottle.

"Thank you," he said quietly, sincerely.

And this time they shouldn't be running from Luke and the other traitors. Hopefully that would make it easier. Easy enough to run to Bianca's aid if she needed it. Or whoever else went on that quest.

"Also," Apollo added on, still serious (which was always creepy), "I know you already have the quest, but when you get back, go to the Oracle. Chiron will know what I mean when I say that. Hades' kid needs to, too."

Percy eyed his cousin dubiously.

"I know not many people like prophecies, but they often do lead to the best outcome possible. Not always, but usually. They can be a road map as much as…" he faded off, looking for the right word. A trap? A prison? A death sentence? Percy didn't say any of that. Not when Apollo was helping him like this. "Well… a fate," the god finished, shrugging.

That was still nicer than Percy would have said, but he wasn't wrong. The time-traveler considered the suggestion for a moment before nodding. "I will. Thank you."

"No problem, kid," Apollo said. "I pay my debts."

Debatable. But Percy, again, wasn't about to say that aloud at that point.

"Will you twoeverfinish, or are you going to take him back to camp, Apollo?" Dionysus called over, obviously annoyed.

"I'm done!" the sun god called back, then clapped Percy on the shoulder. "Good luck."

Percy managed a small smile. "Thanks."

"Now, Paxton!"

"Is that even a name?" Percy muttered as he shot an apologetic look at Apollo, bowed a little (because that deserved acknowledgment at the very least) and jogged over to the much older-looking god.

"What was that?" Mr. D asked dangerously.

"Nothing," Percy sighed.

"Better not be. Now that you're finally here, let's go." With that, he grabbed Percy's arm roughly (it took all of his will to not attack back, that had not been remotely how a god should treat a demigod) and they flashed back to camp, landing on the porch of the Big House.

"Now, go off and—"

"I need to see the Oracle. So does Bianca." Because Percyhighlydoubted Bianca would let Nico go on this trip, and if she did, Percy would probably step up. "Apollo said so."

Mr. D rolled his eyes and strode inside. "Whatever. She's upstairs. Go on, drive yourself mad. Don't expect me to save you."

Percy shook his head, then glanced up towards the attic. He'd tell Bianca in a moment. Right now, he needed to see a mummy.

xXx

Once he'd become Camp Director, Percy had made sure to clean out the attic, falling back on the skills his mother had taught him, designating places for everything he could and generally organizing it all. He'd made a point to try and keep it that way, even if some of the history connected to these relics were… painful.

He missed that organization. A lot. Currently, the attic smelled of must, dust, and a little rot. He wrinkled his nose and picked his way through the maze of objects.

Finally, he reached the mummy by the window.

It only made him grateful that he hadn't had to deal with a cursed oracle during his time over camp. Although, according to the vision he'd had before the Battle of Manhattan, that should be broken soon. As long as Hades' children were outcasts and as long as he labored under the Great Prophecy, the curse would remain. He couldn't help but think Hades didn't really intend for the Oracle's spirit to die with all the obvious loopholes in that. Still, it had caused a lot of problems.

The biggest problem would be to find a proper body to house the spirit now. Rachel had loved being the spirit of Delphi (and hated it in equal measure at times), but should they wait for her? Or would the spirit simply move on as soon as Nico and Bianca were accepted? It hadn't last time.

Well, either way, he'd like to get his prophecy and get out.

So he swallowed, stuck his chin up, and stalked forward.

Just as before, the mummy sort of jerked, turned to Percy, and opened her mouth. Familiar, green smoke poured out, surrounding both of them. Instead of Smelly Gabe and his poker buddies this time around, he saw something that made his heart skip several beats. It hurt.

Annabeth, Grover, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank sat around the cabin of the Argo II. They were all older, in their late 20's or early 30's… except for Jason, of course.

Grover, at his peak of being Lord of the Wild, turned a blank look on Percy first, "I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask."

Shaken, Percy swallowed his fear and pain as best he could, and forced words out of his mouth: "Right. Yeah. How do I get the golden fleece back to save Thalia?"

He'd only received a prophecy from this oracle directly once. He remembered it—how could he forget it—buthadforgotten just howunnervingit had been. And this time was far worse.

Grover nodded once, blankly."Leave to find the golden fleece, Revive the Thunder child of Greece."Percy wondered why the Satyr had spoken so much? Because Percy met this Grover? No, he'd also met this universe's Annabeth. Perhaps he should wait until he knew what this shade of her would say, but maybe it was because his relationship with Grover currently resembled their old one the most? He'd have to think on it… later, as Leo spoke next, looking completely stone faced, nothing like the energetic demigod Percy remembered.

"Butchild ofpantheons;times,entwined…"

Then Hazel, her normally expressive, empathetic amber eyes dull—like she was dead all over again. "Two ideals and quests shall bind."

Piper was the worst one yet, her eyes a flat gray instead of her normal kaleidoscope of color. "Indecision shall be thy bane."

A stoic Frank who looked more like a statue. "Relyonothers once again."

Jason didn't even look at Percy. He wasn't sure if that was better or worse than meeting his old friend's gaze. "One you've saved will turn on you."

Then, finally, Annabeth, as he remembered her in her prime, gorgeous and amazing and… yet, her eyes lacked a spark. This…dollwas not his Annabeth."Your consequences,overdue."

The vision faded as the smoke sucked back into the oracle. As soon as it disappeared altogether, her mouth closed and the mummy collapsed again. Percy swallowed, standing in the space where he'd seen his oldest and dearest friends, all of whom had moved on without him. His chest hurt, as if someone had grabbed his ribs and squeezed.

Eventually, he managed to turn and hurry towards the door, half stumbling over junk in the way. He wasn't running.He wasn't.It was just…

Painful. His friends so blank-faced and uncaring—unable or unwilling to recognize him.

No, he shook his head. Follow the real Hazel's advice and find something positive. It could have been worse. He nodded to himself. It could have been his daughters. Of course, that brought up images that he didnotwant to think about. Just about then, Percy remembered that the 'positive view' method had worked far better for Hazel than it ever had for him.

He met Chiron at the bottom of the stairs. He didn't plow into the trainer, but he had been hurrying faster than he probably had any right to. The Centaur looked both immensely worried and relieved at the sight of him.

"Percy! What did you… why did you go up there?"

He took a deep breath. "Apollo told me to see the oracle."

The centaur didn't seem surprised about that, just confused. "How did you know where the oracle was? Who told you?"

"Uh… Mr. D said to go upstairs, so I went up until I couldn't anymore and looked around." He made sure to make his eyes as big and innocent as he could, then adding a touch of confusion. Hopefully that masked some of his pain. He'd be the first to admit that he wasn't the greatest actor ever, but he could pull this off.

Chiron let out a sigh and if he knew Percy wasn't telling the whole truth, he didn't let on.

"Okay, Percy, tell me about this prophecy. Please."

He didn't have to. It wasn't a rule, but Chiron didnotlike that fact. The thing about Chiron was that while Percy respected him, had worked with him for a long time, the centaur had his biases. He didn't like discussing difficult topics that dealt with his own involvement and had particularly negative or positive opinions of certain gods, taking that bias and placing it on their children as well. It wasn't a conscious thing, but… he also knew to take Chiron's opinion with a grain of salt.

Which was why he decided to tell him the prophecy.

"Leave to find the golden fleece,

Revive the thunder child of Greece.

But child of pantheons, timesentwined,

Two ideals and quests shall bind.

Indecision shall be thy bane,

Rely on others once again.

One you've saved will turn on you.

Your consequences, overdue."

Chiron didn't speak for several seconds, which thankfully gave Percy the time he needed to finally get his emotions under control. He wouldn't be surprised if a storm had popped up outside. Annoyed, but not surprised.

After a while, he finally decided to speak up. "I had a dream… about a sea of monsters and the Bermuda Triangle."

Silence still.

"You'll need a boat," the centaur finally said. Percy nodded emphatically, relieved his old mentor had spoken.

"Do you know the kinds of obstacles you'll face in the sea of monsters?"

Percy blinked, then nodded. "I've read the Odyssey."

"What's recounted there may not be all you'll meet there in today's world," Chiron warned. Percy bit his lip, but didn't say anything, and the older being sighed. "Do you know who you'll take with you?"

Before, he'd gone with Clarisse (whether she wanted him to go or not) but… that didn't seem right this time. Which sucked because that had been a huge part of her own story and growth, as both a demigod and a person.

But this… this would be personal. There really were only three people he could choose from: Annabeth, Luke, and Grover. And he was pretty sure the demigods would demand to go.

"Annabeth and Luke," he finally said quietly.

Chiron closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. "Do you think that is the best for the quest, or are you choosing them based on their association with Thalia?"

Percy frowned. "It's their association with Thalia that makes them the perfect choice. They'll have more reason and motivation to complete the quest."

"You do not think they're too close to the situation?" Chiron asked. It was a fair question.

The time-traveler sighed. "Luke… maybe. Annabeth? No. She's methodical and logical. She'll keep a cool head."

Finally Chiron just nodded. "It is your quest. Why don't you go and inform your questmates and I'll find and discuss the situation with Hades' children."

Percy frowned at the way Chiron had said that, not with disdain—nothing nearly so blatant—but with something negative.

"They're good kids," he said. "They deserve to be safe and welcome here."

The centaur paused, looking surprised. "Of course they do, as do all demigods."

"People will be scared of them, because of their dad, right?" Percy asked.

Chiron's expression softened as he nodded. "It's… not unlikely."

"Is there anything you can do to counter that?" Percy asked.

His old mentor blinked down at the time-traveler thoughtfully for several seconds before he nodded. "I will do the best I can."

It wasn't much, but it was something, so Percy nodded. "Thank you. One of them will be left behind. Probably Nico, if I've read them correctly. He'll need support."

"Of course," Chiron said, nodding.

They stood there for a couple more seconds before the older being put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Go. Get as much rest as you can tonight. I'll see what I can do about getting a boat for you. The campfire is over, and it's almost curfew. You have enough time to tell your questmates before you have to be in your cabin."

As if the harpies could hurt Percy. Still, he nodded.

"I'll head to the Hermes' cabin first."

"Then I will accompany you," Chiron said.

Percy smiled.

Soon they were striding down the hill towards the cabins. It had gotten dark and Percy looked up at the stars above them. It was lovely. They had always been there. He didn't see Zoë up there. That thought had him smiling.

"By the way," Chiron said quietly, drawing Percy's attention. "I've been meaning to give you something your father left here a while back."

Percy's heart leaped and Chiron extended his hand with a smile, holding out a familiar pen. Percy grinned.

"This is Anaklusmos. It has a long, bloody history, but it will return to its owner whenever you lose it or it is taken from you. You can only give this weapon away willingly."

"Riptide," Percy said, taking the pen and uncapping it.

"Be careful," Chiron warned, but Percy'd long since known how to hold this weapon. It felt like seeing an old friend again, and one that knew him just as intimately as he knew it. He gave it a few experimental swings, reveling in the feeling of abalancedweapon for once.

"Well, it seems like you're taking well to it."

Percy just grinned. "Thanks. I think this is the first weapon I've ever held that feltright."

"Hmm," Chiron said thoughtfully. "Have you tried wielding a trident?"

Yes. He had. And yes, it felt right in his hands too. But he'd always preferred Riptide. Trident's… weren't his thing. Still…

"I'll think about it," he said. He always felt strange with a trident, because no matter how right it felt, that was his father's weapon, and his brother's.

They didn't speak for the rest of the trek to the Hermes cabin.

Once there, Chiron called for Nico, Bianca, and Luke, who all came outside. Once there, Chiron left with the Di Angelos. Percy couldn't meet their eyes. He knew what it was like to just get to camp and then be shoved onto a quest. They kept glancing nervously at him as Chiron led them away to the big house.

After they were out of hearing range, Luke turned to Percy. "What was that all about?"

The time-traveler took a deep breath. "The gods decided that one of Hades' children needs to go and find the Master Bolt."

Luke blinked, surprised. "I thought that was supposed to be you."

"It was. But we have another quest."

More blinking, and then Luke's eyes narrowed. "We?"

Percy nodded. "Luke, will you help me find the golden fleece so we can save Thalia?"

Chapter 6: Lots of Discussions

Chapter Text

Luke stared at Percy in the dim light shining through cabin windows and mixing with the moonlight (no storm, yay!) and the relatively distant hearth—with Aunt Hestia watching them closely, of course—for several seconds. "I'm sorry, what?"

The time-traveler blinked. He thought Luke would jump at the chance to save Thalia. Had he misread something? Or maybe Luke had actually misheard?

"I'm going on a quest to the Sea of Monsters to find the golden fleece… You know, Jason and the Argonauts? All of that? I know where the golden fleece is. In… mydream," he emphasized the word, so Luke would hopefully pick up on the fact that he meant the other timeline, "it could save Thalia, because her spirit is in the tree right now."

Luke didn't react for several seconds. When he finally did, though, he was obviously calming himself down. Percy frowned at the reaction, waiting for the boy to speak.

"So, you've known all this time that Thalia is, according to you,alive, and you didn't bother to tell me? Or Annabeth?"

Wait…

"I didn't?" He could have sworn he had… Ugh, he really missed his eidetic memory.

"No!" Luke yelled.

"Di Immortales, I'm sorry!" Percy said, mentally kicking himself. "I honestly thought I had. I mean, I was always going to go after the fleece for her. I swear I thought I'd told you."

Luke took several more breaths and turned away. After a moment, though, he let out one long breath. "Is there anything else we may want to know?" He didn't turn around.

Percy rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, probably a lot. But half of it wouldn't be safe to talk about right now and the other half is… a mess. It's not like I have a list to go over. I've been doing my best but I'm kind of winging it. Despite… everything, I'm still just twelve-years-old right now, with a normal, demigod brain. I'm trying to keep you informed, I am, but there's alot, Luke."

The other boy sighed again. "Fine. I get it." He wasn't happy about it, but he was being honest as far as Percy could tell without tapping into his emotions. He'd already done that enough, thank you. "And you want me to come help you find the fleece?" Luke finally turned around, still miffed but also determined and a bit resigned.

Percy nodded. "It's on Polyphemus' island."

"Polyphemus. As in the Cyclops from the Odyssey?"

A pause. "Yes?"

Luke let out a string of curse words. Then he took another breath. "Anything else about this quest I should know?"

Percy wracked his brain. "Um, anything from the Odyssey or other Greco-Roman works is fair game for us to run into… and maybe more."

"This just keeps getting better," Luke muttered to himself. "Okay, fine. Who is our other quest partner and when do we leave?"

"I wanted to leave tomorrow morning," Percy said, then bit the inside of his cheek. "And… do you really think Annabeth would let us go on this mission without her?"

"What?!" Luke practically shrieked, stalking up to Percy.

He held his hands up, placating. "She went in my dream, and she was fine."

"She's twelve!"

"So am I!"

"That's not the same and you know it!"

"We were both thirteen in the… in my dream. No extra… knowledge—" read 'future memories', Luke should get that, he hoped— "involved. And that was the second quest we went on."

Luke's face was getting red.

"Luke, you can't protect her forever," Percy said quietly. "She wants—needs, even—to go out for herself. And she's up to the challenge."

"She's my little sister," Luke whispered, voice harsh, but he sounded more desperate than anything.

"Even if you could protect her forever, do you think she would like that?" Percy asked. "Do you think she would ever be happy in a life like that?"

Luke closed his eyes, that same sad resignation coming over him.

"I hate this," he finally said.

Percy sighed. "Yeah, I know. I do too. More than you realize. I've watched too many children go off and never come back. It's wrong. But right now, it'snecessary. And shewillcome back. If I have to sacrifice myself to get her back here alive, I will."

"Do you swear it on the Styx?" Luke asked.

Percy blinked, but then his mouth firmed. "Yes."

Thunder rumbled, and that seemed to be the last hold out for Luke.

"I'll hold you to that," he muttered.

"Do you want to go and tell her about the quest with me?" Percy asked.

Luke thought about that, then nodded. "Yeah."

Together, they stalked across the camp towards the Athena cabin, neither one talking. When they got there, Luke pounded on the cabin door. Meghan, one of Annabeth's older sisters, opened the door, looking annoyed, until she saw who was there.

"Luke?" she asked, surprised. "What's wrong?"

"Is Annabeth here?" he asked tightly.

"Luke!" Annabeth asked, practically shoving past Meghan. "What… Percy?" She paused when she saw both of them, looking between them in confusion.

"I've been given a quest," Percy said before Luke could. "Do you want to go?"

Gray eyes lit up in excitement. "Yes!" she said, almost breathlessly. "Absolutely! I've beenwaitingfor this!"

"You don't even know where we're going," Luke said through gritted teeth.

That didn't seem to phase Annabeth. She just looked even happier. "You're coming too! This is great!"

"We're um… going to the Sea of Monsters to find the golden fleece to help with camp's wards," Percy said.

Annabeth froze. Behind her, Percy could see several of her brothers and sisters listening in. "The same golden fleece Jason went after?" The time-traveler nodded, trying not to think of the blond-haired Roman by the same name. "How do you even know the golden fleece is there?"

"Prophetic dream."

Annabeth's eyebrows rose on her forehead. "What?"

"Annabeth, we need to discuss this privately," Luke said, gesturing away from the cabin.

Every child of Athena blinked, and their eyes narrowed. Including Annabeth. It was a little disconcerting, but also highly amusing.

"Very well," she said, stepping out. "I'll be right back," she told her (obviously disappointed) brothers and sisters before closing the door. Luke had already turned to walk away from the cabin, towards Hestia's fire. The two twelve-year-olds followed behind.

"What's going on?" Annabeth asked when they finally stopped, suspicious.

"The fleece can bring back Thalia," Luke said.

Blood drained from her face. "What?" she whispered, voice croaking.

"Thalia's spirit is in the tree," Percy said. "The fleece can heal more or less anything that isn't a chopped limb. It can bring her back."

"Your… dream told you this?" she asked shakily.

Percy tipped his hand back and forth in front of him. "Kind of. It's… a bit more than that, but… remember when I told you you'd be the first to know about me barring extenuating circ*mstances?" She nodded. "Luke brought up some extenuating circ*mstances. He knows. But I think it's about time I told you. Just… not here. Or now. I'll tell you on the quest.

"Just know that yes, we can bring Thalia back."

Annabeth stared at him for several seconds before turning to Luke, silently asking him if Percy was crazy.

"It's true," Luke said.

"Di Immortales," Annabeth whispered.

"For now, we need to rest," Percy said.

"You expect me to sleep after that?" Annabeth asked, incredulous.

Percy sighed. "We leave tomorrow morning, and if we want to be on top of our game, yes."

If anything, Annabeth looked even more incredulous, and mildly offended. "You've given me just tonight to plan?"

"I just barely got this quest," Percy said.

Annabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine," she said. "Sea of Monsters. I'm going to guess anything to do with water could get in our way."

"More or less," Percy said, sheepishly. "But I can take care of most of the water stuff."

"I'm still preparing," Annabeth said.

The time-traveler smiled softly. "I wouldn't expect differently."

She didn't seem to notice his expression, too preoccupied with her plans. "What about a boat?"

"Chiron said he'd find one for us," Percy said. "I don't know anything else."

Annabeth nodded, eyes still fixed on the ground as she thought. "I'll have to talk to him. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Around eight," Percy said.

She blinked. "Isn't that too late?"

He shrugged. "Seven then. If we wake up earlier, we can work on getting any supplies we need."

Annabeth nodded. "Good idea."

Then, with that, she turned and just walked away. Didn't even say goodnight. Percy just chuckled and shook his head fondly. Then he turned to Luke, who was watching him with a narrowed gaze.

"What?" Percy asked.

Luke's eyes narrowed more. "I don't care who you are or how powerful you are. If you hurt her, I'll find a way to kill you."

Percy blinked, then laughed. Which, apparently, Luke was not expecting.

"You know, that's one of the best things you've ever said to me," the time-traveler said. It was a relief to know someone else was in Annabeth's corner this time around. Not that she didn't have friends, or her brothers and sisters, or even her mother to some extent, and she certainly had Percy, but… Luke had hurt her in the other life. She didn't need to go through that in this one. And when was more support bad? He went to walk away, but something else occurred to him.

"Oh, if Bianca asks who she should take on her quest, I recommend Clarisse from the Ares cabin and Grover."

"Because of yourdreams?" Luke asked.

Percy just shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, he walked off towards his own cabin, leaving a very confused and thoughtful son of Hermes behind him.

"Percy," the demigod paused as he walked past Hestia's hearth, still amused. At her call, he looked over at her.

"Yes, Aunt Hestia?"

She shook her head fondly. "Thank you. I love how you constantly acknowledge our connection."

"It makes your family domain very happy?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. Glancing back, he saw Luke still watching them from well outside his hearing range. He wondered if he should do something about that, but almost immediately decided not to worry. It was Aunt Hestia.

The goddess laughed. "I'm not sure if I would have put it quite like that, but you're not wrong." Percy turned back to her, grinning. He knew it was more of the part of their being that needed something to anchor them to life. Losing that—either the connection or what that connection leads to—was what caused a god to fade, so strengthening that was a good way to make them feel alive.

Demigods too, although that wasn't the only thing that tied them to life, so it wasn't as necessary, but either Percy hadn't realized about that connection the first time around, or he'd brought that back with the mindset, because he could definitely feel that now.

"Come, sit with me," she gestured beside her. Percy grinned again and walked over to sit by the fire.

"What did you want to discuss?" he asked.

She shook her head again. "You're so polite with me, but were downright rude to my youngest brother and sister. How is it that I, of all gods, earned your respect?"

He frowned. "Is that really what you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"Humor me?" she returned. "I've set up a barrier."

Percy chewed on that for a little, then decided 'why not'.

"You know of the great prophecy—the one already fulfilled now?"

"The one you had to fulfill your first time?" she asked. He nodded. "Yes, I do."

"'A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze'," he muttered, eyes going distant, drawn to the flicker of the fire in front of him. "I was given so many choices that could have qualified. Everyone was convinced I was the child of the prophecy… and I was, to an extent. But in the end, I don't think it was my choice. I think it was… well…" he paused, eyes darting to Luke, who was still watching them.

Hestia wasn't stupid by any means. She glanced between Percy and Luke for several seconds before her eyebrows rose in recognition. "Oh. He… initially?"

Percy nodded, looking down. "Joined your father? Yes. Through lies and trickery, of course."

The goddess sighed and slumped. "Father always was good at that."

"The Crooked One," Percy muttered. "As for the rest of the prophecy, the half-blood of the eldest gods was definitely me. We fought on my sixteenth birthday—fought for Olympus. And for many days before that too. One of those days, I ran into… the Titan who helped Athena create humans."

Hestia's eyebrows rose, and she glanced at the flames again. Prometheus had been the one to give humans fire, after all.

"He gave me Pandora's Pithos. Told me to open the pot when I was ready to 'give up hope'."

His aunt looked flabbergasted. "But… he loved humanity—his creations. Giving up to my father…"

Percy nodded. "I think he got tired of seeing humanity so plagued—so hurt. I think he gave the pithos to me because he'd finally given up hope himself."

"Prometheus…" she muttered.

Percy blinked, taken aback at her saying his name.

"To lose hope…" she shook her head, pained. The demigod wasn't quite sure what was going through her mind, but he wouldn't doubt she and the Titan had more history than the tales said.

"The Pithos kept showing up during those battles, tempting me. Eventually, though, I gave it to you. Because hope survives best at the hearth."

It was her turn to look surprised. "Me? But so many consider me theleastof the Olympians."

He shook his head, smiling softly. "No, but maybe thelastof the Olympians. You hold the hearth—the reason to fight. Without you, what would we have to come home to once the fighting is over?" She suddenly looked so touched Percy had to look away again. "You helped me out so much in that battle, helping me understand Luke… and the prophecy. I think, by that point, you'd figured most of it out."

"You flatter me," she said softly.

"You deserve it," he replied. Then he met her gaze again. "I look up to you because I think I relate to you the most. You don't want power or prestige… you're just happy fulfilling your domains. That has its own strength. I'm not entirely sure the rest of the gods understand that. Or they've forgotten."

"You might be surprised," she said.

He shrugged. "Maybe. But either way, your type of strength is the one I wish I could have. You don't actively go out of your way to hurt others to try and lift yourself above them… and you care. Of all of the Olympians, I think you understand humans the most.

"I know others try, and maybe our messenger comes close, but… you respect life in a way none of the others can, I think."

She'd looked away, staring at the fire for several seconds. "I have just as many stains on my past as the others do. I fought in wars myself."

Percy shrugged. "Maybe I'm short-sighted, then. Or maybe you're better than you think you are. Or maybe you've just learned from your mistakes. I don't know. But you've always been good to me and mine, and fair when you can be. Of course I'll respect that."

She didn't speak for a long time, but Percy didn't think this was the time to push, so he just sat back, watching the fire and, occasionally, Luke. Eventually, the other demigod turned and walked off into the night. Percy wondered what Luke thought—what was going through his head. And still the silence wore on.

"Who was the first demigod to talk to me, in your time?" she asked.

"The first time?" he asked, then chuckled a little. "Funnily enough, Nico Di Angelo. Why do you ask?"

"I don't need to be noticed all the time," she said. "You are right about that. But… I would like to be noticedsometime."

He nodded. "You said something similar the first time… or implied it. Well, both, I suppose."

"You are such an unusual child, you know," she whispered. "Giving respect to those who don't necessarily need attention, and refusing respect to those who do. Being so honest…"

He sighed. "Those shouldn't be unusual, in my opinion."

She shook her head, a fond smile back in place, though this one seemed deeper somehow. Then she held out her hand. In it, he saw a glass jar, fixed on top with some orange fabric. Inside, floated a ball of smoldering coal, about the size of a quarter.

"Aunt?" he asked, confused.

"When you're on your quest, I can't directly interfere."

He blinked. "Yes, I know." He knew that all too well. He could sometimes get around that with his domains, but other gods? Not so much.

"Luke and your other friend, Annabeth… do they know everything? About you?"

Percy blinked. "Well, no." Although he'd definitely have to tell Annabeth about his time travel, as he planned, and Luke knew some of it, but had just said he'd want more info on what was to come and—"

Oh.

Oh.

He already knew that wouldn't be a fun conversation, but how many gods could listen in and hear anything he said? Everything he'd worked to conceal—everything that could possibly give him an advantage—could be leaked. Gods didn'talwayslisten to humans, but that didn't mean theycouldn't.

His expression must have shown his thought, because she nodded. "I've been putting up barriers for you, and the others haven't gotten desperate enough to break through them yet, but I won't be able to do that once you leave. Your fathermight, but I doubt it. He'll want to save any leverage he has for something more… desperate than a conversation.

"This," she held the jar up a little higher, "will help you."

He blinked at her, touched. This was yet another reason why he looked up to her. She'd already thought of potential problems and come up with solutions for them before anyone else had remotely looked that far.

But…

"Nothing comes without a price," he said slowly.

She shot him a sad look that instantly made him feel guilty. "Percy, I thought you knew me better than that."

"Sorry," he muttered, "It's just…"

She sighed. "Fair enough. If anyone asks, you talked to me. You keep talking to me. You're helping my family. I'll support you in that. Always."

He shot her a smile, relieved and grateful. "Thanks, Aunt Hestia."

She nodded, all traces of sadness gone. "Just tap the lid three times. It will give you three shields, and none of them can keep everyone out. If a god wants to hear, depending on their power, you could have anywhere from five minutes to half-an hour."

"But bet on it being closer to five," he said, sighing. "Okay. So while there's a chance Olympus won't find out about my secret, there's a good chance they will." Joy.

"Yes, and the closer you are to the jar, the stronger the shield will be."

"So," he muttered, "while there's a chance Olympus won't find out about my secret, it's not unlikely that they will."

Again, Hestia nodded again, albeit sadly. "It's the best I can do."

Percy shook his head. "No, it's more than I would have had, and you didn't have to even do this much. I appreciate it, Aunt. I do. Thank you." He bowed his head towards her. "If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

"That's a dangerous offer," she said softly.

He smiled. "I trust you."

She shook her head again. "You are too trusting."

"Maybe," he shrugged. "Or maybe I just have you pegged."

With that he winked and rose to his feet, cradling the jar in his hands. "Is there anything else you need, Aunt?"

"No, you can go pack," she said.

He grinned. "Goodnight, Aunt."

She watched him leave, an unreadable expression on her face he didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't care about.

"Goodnight, Nephew. I hope you have chosen well."

xXx

He didn't sleep well that night. Everything started fine, he packed carefully, making sure he had the vitamins and the barrier jar, both wrapped carefully to prevent them breaking, as well as the horn his father gave him. Once he finished with that, he got to sleep fairly quickly, but while he had no prophetic dreams, he was plagued with images of his friends and family.

Annabeth, old and tired, kept showing up, asking why they had to be part of a Greek tragedy (something they'd discussed frequently but had never come up with a satisfactory answer to). He saw their daughters, angry at him for letting their mother die (that had never openly happened, although he'd suspected…). Grover looking at him strangely, asking him why he thought they would be close (because he doesn't know Grover nearly so well this time around). Jason, with a hole in his chest, yelling at Percy and asking why he hadn't been there to help him (he hadn't had that one for a while). Leo and Calypso glaring at him before leaving him behind, no matter how he tried to catch up to them. Rachel looking at him so sadly before drying into a mummy. Piper, Hazel, and Frank watching him with a sort of wary fear they only reserved for gods. Nico's ghost as an old man following him around, warning him he can't tell Percy about the souls that have gone on anymore.

His mother on her death bed, dying to cancer. Paul had already gone a couple of years before due to a car crash, so it was just him and Estelle. His mother smiled up at him, never anything but the loving, amazing person she always was, and then she was gone. In real life, Estelle and him had sort of clung to each other all night before he'd been called to Olympus. In his dream, she screamed at him, blaming him for their mother's death, saying nothing he hadn't already thought of himself. It still hurt.

He saw campers who had come later, all trusting him as they set off on their own quests, never to return, and all blaming him for those deaths. Too many deaths.

He woke far too many times inside his cabin for him to have gotten much real sleep. The last time had been some time around five. Too tired to try to do much of anything else, he'd crawled out of bed and sort of half-walked, half-stumbled to the lake, flopping into it and letting the water soothe him. Muttering for the naiads to please wake him in an hour or so, he let himself finally drift into a decent, restful sleep.

Chapter 7: Strange Parallels

Chapter Text

"Bianca!" Percy gasped, rushing up the hill towards Thalia's tree. Thankfully, he could see three people at the top, and was happy to find Bianca, Grover, and Clarisse. So Luke had spoken to her after all. He felt a weight lift from his chest and reveled in it.

At the top of the hill, the three of them turned at Percy's shout. He slowed as he approached them, breathing deeply as he took them all in for a moment, making sure they were prepared and unharmed and…

Oh. He could sense them all pretty equally. That was a surprise. Apparently his growth through the last year had strengthened his bond to the nature spirits in Camp too, because he could sense Grover far better than he could the year before. Why hadn't he noticed earlier? Probably because he was kind of more focused on getting the Di Angelos to Camp and the upcoming quest (now quests) and their claiming and Luke and Annabeth…

Speaking of which, he could also sense a presence behind one of the bushes that grew nearby, but out of sight of his path and the group's position. He considered outing said presence, but ultimately decided not to draw any attention to them, focusing on the group in front of him instead and pushing the knowledge of an inevitable confrontation to the back of his mind for now. He could deal with that then. For now, he genuinely wanted to encourage Bianca and the other two. It took a lot of effort, but he forced himself to smile.

It had already been a long summer, and he hadn't even been back from school a week. Typical.

"Percy," Bianca said, confused but pleased. It was far warmer than any expression she'd given him in his first life. Clarisse glared at Percy, but not with the vitriol he remembered, so there was that too. Grover just looked… tired. Percy understood that. Grover had confided that he hadn't slept well before their first quest in the other timeline, too. Which Percy could relate to. Bianca looked tired too, now that he looked closer. Clarisse didn't, though Percy would put money on her just hiding it.

"Glad I caught you," he said, annoyed at his body. He'd spent a lot of timefightingrecently but notrunningand he was obviously not used to it. Something he'd overlooked.

It would be fixed. Very soon. One way or another.

"Look, you just got here and are going on a quest, and that sucks," he knew that from experience, "but…" he held out his hands. Brows furrowed, Bianca opened her palms underneath his. He set a prism-maker in one hand and a stack of drachma in the other. Her eyes opened wide, probably at the sight of all that gold. He was glad he'd come up then. She was new and likely hadn't been given a prism-maker yet. That had occurred to him when he'd thought about making sure he had his own that morning.

"Keep this. I know I'm on my own quest. I know I'll be on the other side of the world. But if you need help,pleasecall me. Do your best to get through. One drachma should be enough for a normal call, but if it won't go through, you may need incentive to have Lady Iris break through whatever barrier is blocking you. Or me. I'm going to the Sea of Monsters, so it might take two or three drachmas*. Although, you can give up something of great value to you instead of a drachma as well. The higher you value what you give up, the more she'll work at breaking through boundaries. Though I have heard that children of Pl… um, Hades can sometimes call specific metals or rocks to them, so that might also be an option."

Bianca blinked. "I… just… Percy, what?"

That expression… For a moment, he just saw the girl he'd watched die on the quest to save Artemis—young and scared and confused but also excited at the prospect of finding something new. A pang of pain shot through his heart. He had to accept that she might die before he could get to her, even if she called him and he hadn't even explained that but… she needed to be able to do most of the quest on her own.

And yet, he couldn't just send her off. Not when hecouldinterfere without severe consequences. Percy grabbed her still outstretched hand, trying to get across how much he meant his words. She looked surprised. Probably because she didn't have context. He pushed aside his own annoyance at himself and his 'dive in head first' attitude and focused on what he wanted to say.

"You can do this. You have a strong team. Clarisse can fight just about anything and I'd trust Grover with my life—like I know you already have." He nodded to a surprised daughter of Ares and Grover, who just looked on determinedly and nodded back once. "The thing is, anyone can have a problem on a quest. There's a reason they're so dangerous. If you get into a fight you can't win—and I know it would have to be one Hades of a fight…" he paused, blinking. That had been almost as awkward as saying the exact same thing to Hades himself. Which he really didn't want to think about, so he just cleared his throat and moved on. "If that happens, get to water. If it's connected to the sea, that will be better. I can be there in minutes because of my ability to water travel.

"More demigods can't go on your quest with you—there's a reason only three typically go—but if someone shows up to help, it doesn't tend to trigger that particular problem. So, you do that for me, and I'll do that for you. If I get into a bind I can't get out of, I'll call you, okay? Maybe fresh eyes can help me find a solution. Let's both come home from this."

Clarisse snorted and looked away. Grover looked down, likely worried about losing more demigods and friends (not having that empathy link was… more frustrating that Percy thought it would be). Bianca just blinked in surprise.

Then she burst into tears.

Which wasdefinitelynot what Percy had been expecting. He dropped her hand and stepped back. Bianca didn't seem to mind.

"F-for as long as I remember, I've always been the one to take care of everyone. The older sister, the mature one, the leader of the quest." Percy nodded, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. It wasn't so much the crying itself (he was used to campers crying) but morewhy, and the fact that he really didn't know. For the first time in a while, he was tempted to try and read her emotions, but managed to hold himself back.

That was a slippery slope he refused to approach unless absolutely necessary. Like figuring out if Luke had stolen the Bolt this time around.

"N-no one's ever offered to h-help me carry that burden," she finally clarified.

Oh.

Oh.

"Leadership?" he asked, starting to see where that was coming from.

"Parent," Bianca said. "And… and I think that's different."

Percy winced at the presence he knew was listening in, but once again returned his focus to the girl in front of him. Nodding, he patted her on the back. She leaned into his touch. He was kind of surprised that Grover hadn't said anything at this point, but then he was the empath of the group, so maybe he knew something Percy didn't. Also, he really needed to stop projecting the Lord of the Wild onto this much younger satyr. Was he doing that to the other campers too? He hoped not. He'd been trying to avoid it.

No,focus. Stupid ADHD.

"It is different," he finally decided to say, keeping his voice quiet and supportive as he fell into the familiar role of Camp Director. "Thankfully, this team doesn't need a parent. But it could probably use a leader. Not that Clarisse or Grover couldn't lead," he nodded at the other two, who looked on with varying expressions of interest and offense. "But this quest was given toyou. All three of you will be needed to fulfill it, butyouwill need to lead it. And maybe this is a good time to figure some things out. Your team is here to support you, and, like I said, I know I'll help as much as I can."

She nodded and looked up, a new resolve entering her dark eyes. "Thank you. I'll help you too! And, you're right. We'llallcome back from our quests."

Percy felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders as he returned the nod.

"Yeah, yeah," Clarisse seemed to finally reach her breaking point. "Enough of all this mushy stuff. Let's go, already."

Percy withheld a snort and nodded instead. "Right.Jalbwa, no chingu**."

Everyone looked strangely at him for that, and it took him a moment to realize he'd gone a little too far into his director mode and added on what he tended to for his kids in the future.

"What?" Clarisse asked, blinking.

"Oh," Percy said, shifting nervously. "Sorry. It's Korean. Kind of an Anglified version… ish. It became popular…" no, it hadn't become that popular yet. Not as an actual saying. Sure, anyone from Korea would understand but it wasn't a common phrase right now… he thought. "Um… you know what? It means good luck. So, good luck." It was actually a very informal, heart-felt way of wishing someone the best, but this had already gotten awkward enough.

Bianca looked a little relieved, and awkward herself. Cheeks darkening, likely with second-hand embarrassment. "Thanks, Percy. Good luck to you, too."

"Great. Now let's go," Clarisse said, grabbing Bianca's backpack and physically hauling her past Thalia's tree.

"Uh… bye, Percy!"

"Bye Bianca, Clarisse, Grover!"

He expected Grover to return the call, but the Satyr just waved nervously. So Percy decided to call out, "You got this, Buddy!"

"Go on your own quest, Prissy!" The daughter of Ares called before Grover could say anything. There was the Clarisse he knew. Shaking his head fondly, he watched them go for a bit before turning around and bracing himself for another hard conversation. Sure enough, after only a couple of steps down the side of the hill, he heard a quiet voice.

"Am I a burden?"

Oh, yeah. This would not be fun.

Taking a deep breath, he turned around calmly and faced Nico Di Angelo, sitting behind the bush with his arms around his knees, hands clasping a figurine and a deck of cards respectively.

Percy sighed, mentally apologized to Annabeth and Luke before striding over and sitting down next to his cousin. That wasn't an easy question to answer. Because in a way, every relationship was a burden, but the good relationships werewell worththe burden. However, Nico didn't need to hear that. Not in his mindset. The philosophy would probably interest him when he was older, but now, he was a ten-year-old kid who had just heard the one figure he really looked up to talk about… well,that.

The thing was, he didn't want to lie to the kid either.

"Depends on what you mean as 'burden'. A weight someone hates carrying?"

Nico seemed to think about that, not looking up as he slowly nodded.

"Then, no," Percy said. "I think your sisterwanted—still wants—to make sure you're safe, but was very young when she had to start doing that all the time. She wasn't prepared, and she tries her hardest, but sometimes she doesn't think she's doing it right, or doing enough, and that gets tiring. That isn't your fault. It isn't her fault either. It's honestly more of a failing of the adults around you who should have helped."

The son of Hades finally looked up, his dark eyes sad but thoughtful.

"What adults?"

Percy slumped a little. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Alright, let's go this way. Bianca mentioned both of your memories are a little spotty. How much do you remember of your life before you came here?"

Nico opened his mouth, then paused and frowned again, this time in confusion. "I… we were at a hotel for a couple of months. And then we were brought by our father's lawyer to school…" he faded off as some pieces clicked. "Oh."

"Yeah," Percy nodded. "Probably one of your father's servants. On that note, do you remember your mother at all?"

The tween bit his lip and looked down, thinking hard, before shaking his head. "No. I mean… there wassomethingbefore the hotel… but I can't remember what!" He suddenly looked panicked as he turned to Percy. "That's not 'a little spotty'! Why don't I remember?!"

The older demigod held out his hands placatingly. "It's probably something your father did to keep you safe. We can talk to him later, if you want. But the thing is, demigods can't be raised by their godly parent. It's one of the rules everyone in our pantheon has to follow. Especially for us Big Three kids. Being around our godly parent—or any god, though to a lesser extent with others—calls to our divinity. It can awaken parts of us our bodies aren't prepared for, drive us mad, or hurt us badly without meaning to. Gods can be selfish, cruel beings, but very few actively want to hurt their children like that. So your father had to do something to protect you. I don't know the details on what—you'd have to ask him—but my guess? Something happened to your mother and your father did what he could to save you.

"Anyway, back to my point. So… um… the thing is…," he tried to think about how to say what he needed to. "Do you know what 'parentification' is?" he finally settled on. Nico's eyebrows drew together and he shook his head. Percy nodded. "It's taking a child and putting them in a parental role, usually by the people who should be taking care of the children to begin with, often for long or extended periods of time. Children are still developing emotionally and mentally, though, and aren'tmeantto be in a role like that, so it's considered a form of abuse. You know what abuse is, right?"

Nico's eyes had flown wide in horror, and he nodded slowly. "When a parent hurts their child?"

Percy tipped his hand back and forth. "Abuse isn't strictly from parent to child only. For instance, bullying is a form of abuse, often from peers or sometimes even people younger than the victim. But, yes. It's when someone repeatedly hurts someone else–especially someone they should respect or protect–to get what they want. Do you see why 'parentification' applies?"

Swallowing, Nico nodded, looking down again, his face still twisted in horror. "So… Bianca…"

"Yes," Percy said, not unkindly. "But something you have to realize? It's not your fault."

"But… I'm the one she was taking care of."

Percy shrugged. "You deserve to be taken care of. Everyone here does. That doesn't mean it always happens. And she still wants to see you happy and healthy. That's why you're not a burden. Everyone involved is really doing the best they can with what they have.

"But that's why you're here now. Some people might be scared of you because of who your father is, but even they still want Bianca to succeed. Even they don't want to see you hurt. You can find good people here you can rely on. And maybe you and Bianca can talk about what kind of a relationship you want when she gets back—what will be best for both of you. That's probably why your father sent you here." Okay, Percy had no idea if that had even factored into Hades plans, but he'd give the guy the benefit of the doubt and a positive footing with his son. If the god ruined it, well, that would be all on him.

Nico looked like he was biting the inside of his lip, and shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't… like people," he muttered. "I try to be happy and nice, I do! But… making new friends is hard."

Percy withheld a scoff. That was so like the cousin he remembered. "Yeah, it can be," he said instead. "But you met me, right?" Nico nodded slowly. "And Grover too."

"Um… he just kind of showed up and was a better choice than the monsters following us from school," the smaller boy muttered.

"But you still trusted him." Nico nodded again, albeit reluctantly. "You don't have to trust everyone you meet to begin with, even here. Actually, I'd advise against it, but… maybe give them a chance. Some people will let you down, sure, but you'll also find good people to lift you up too, even if it takes a little while. You just need to meet enough of them. For now, set your boundary of how much time you'll put into trying to make friends, and how much time you need on your own, and you can change that up later if you need to.

"I'm not gonna lie, it won't be easy, but it will be worth it." He held out his hand. "So, are you willing to try?"

Nico just stared at the offered appendage for several seconds before setting the figurine in his right hand down and reaching over to shake Percy's. "Okay. I'll… try."

Percy grinned. "Good. I can see why Bianca's proud of you."

That had just the effect he wanted as Nico blushed. "I… um… what?! Sh-she didn't say that!"

The time-traveler shrugged. "She didn't have to. It's in how she talks about you."

Nico looked down. "You think so?"

Percy nodded. "Yup. One hundred percent." Okay, he was actually maybe only 80% sure, but Nico didn't need to know that either.

"Um, did… you mean what you said earlier?" Nico suddenly asked, changing the subject so fast Percy blinked and leaned away a little.

"What?"

"About helping her and everyone coming home?"

Oh. It wasthattalk. Joy.

"I did," he said slowly.

"Do you promise to save her?" he asked, pleading. With those bright and hopeful, but simultaneously dark and desperate eyes staring up at him, Percy could remember why he'd had a hard time refusing the first go around. Fortunately, he had more experience this time.

"I can't promise that," he said softly.

Nico looked stung and Percy had to withhold a wince.

"What?!"

"Nico, Bianca shouldn't have been responsible for you like she was. That wasn't your fault, but in an ideal world, it wouldn't have happened at all. You should have had your mother and you both would have grown up with her, hopefully happy. But life isn't always like that, and Bianca stepped up. Was that fair to either of you?"

The son of Hades looked pained when he thought back on their conversation and shook his head. "No."

"Can you see how asking me to take responsibility for her is just as wrong?" Nico cringed and Percy shoved the guilt away. Nico just had a way of making him feel like he'd kicked a puppy sometimes. As he grew older the son of Hades learned how to take advantage of it. It had always been one of his most terrifying traits.

"I wasn't asking you to take responsibility," he muttered.

Percy raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You wanted me to promise to bring her home safely. That's asking me to take responsibility for her. The thing is, I will be across the world trying to keep my own team alive for our quest." He was tempted to ask Nico if they were less important than Bianca, but decided not to, having the suspicion the kid would say yes and then withdraw if he did. So he went with something else. "What Icanpromise is that I will do everything within my power to help her when she calls me. And that's all I can do."

"But what if shedies?!"

Normally, Percy wouldn't have much of a consoling answer for him… and honestly still didn't, but he did have a point he could make this time, albeit a bitter one. "Then the world will likely end because the gods will go to war and we'll all be fighting each other and trying to survive anyway."

His words had the desired effect of making Nico draw back in shock. Percy didn't feel much satisfaction knowing he'd been right about the kid not looking at the larger picture. He was ten and sheltered. Of course he wouldn't.

Percy still felt like he'd kicked a puppy.Again.

"I can't tell you how to feel," the son of Poseidon said as he stood up, brushing his pants off. He still had to stop by his cabin and grab his backpack, and he was already running late. "That's for you to decide. But I can tell you that I will do everything I can to make sure she survives. I don't know if that will be enough, but it's more than what she had before. If that's not enough for you, I recommend you train to get stronger so you can support her. But just remember, you need to talk to her about what she wants when she gets back. Okay?"

Nico looked troubled. "You said 'when'," he murmured.

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I did. I want to believe we're all coming back, even if that's naive.

"I need to leave but… don't sit here for too long, yeah?"

The dark-eyed boy didn't look happy, but he did nod. Percy smiled and turned to leave. He knew it was time to let the boy stew on his own. If he pushed anymore, it would probably only hurt Nico more in the long run.

Speaking of running… he waited until he was a fair distance away from Nico before he broke into a sprint. His teammates were probably already finished loading the ship—a ship he hadn't even seen yet. He didn't even know where they got a ship. Weren't the Greeks supposed to have navies? Why hadn't he ever seen one?

And also, he really,reallyneeded to work on his running.

xXx

"Where have you been?" Annabeth asked as he came huffing and puffing up to the pier. The pier that had just kind of appeared the night before. Or that morning, he wasn't entirely sure.

He sent a mental thanks to his dad.

The boat at the end of the pier looked… well, a little under the weather. He could tell Annabeth wasn't exactly happy with it, and Luke was walking around said boat, staring at everything with a sort of horrified awe.

Still, they'd obviously been busy with supplies as there wasn't much left to load. Not that they had a whole lot they'd need for a trip that would likely take them a couple of days at most, but this was Annabeth's first quest, and Luke's first quest after his failed one, so it was understandable that they wanted to be prepared.

"I wanted to wish Bianca and her quest good luck," he said, wheezing more than he'd like.

Annabeth just looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

Percy raised an eyebrow in return. "What?"

"You're wheezing and out of breath."

"And?"

"I… guess I just didn't expect that," she muttered, face going red, not with embarrassment, but likely anger. She never had liked to admit she'd made a mistake.

"Wait, did I just hear you went to wish the other quest well?" Luke asked, looking confused as he walked up the pier.

That took the time-traveler by surprise. "Yes."

The other's confusion deepened. "Why?"

Percy couldn't help but be confused at his confusion. "Why shouldn't I? I mean, we all want everyone to come back… right?"

"Of course we do," Annabeth said, a little too quickly.

The time-traveler eyed her. "Wait. Do you… not like her?" He frowned. That didn't quite make sense either. His fellow questgoers seemed to be confused athisactions towards her, not their own.

"No," she said, sounding frustrated. "That's not it."

"Gods don't act like that."

Annabeth gasped. "Luke," she whispered.

"What?" he asked.

Percy shook his head, reaching down for the final bag (potatoes, he thought) and hefted it with more than a little effort. "I told you I'm completely mortal," he said, walking up the gangplank, "no matter my memories". That burden he'd just lifted by talking to Bianca seemed to return ten-fold, and he was suddenly very tired, going on a quest with people he both did and didn't know, who couldn't seem to treat him like another demigod. He didn't need to tap into his emotion sense to get fear, puzzlement, and shock from them at more or less everything he did.

He realized that by telling Luke his past (and by Annabeth figuring it out), they'd stopped seeing him as Percy. Instead, they saw a typical Greek god, just without powers… and he'dreallylike them to stop. He wasn't that bad.

Was he?

He really hoped not…

He really triednotto be…

Yeah, topic change. Now. Thank you, brain.

Continuing up the plank, he expected to feel right at home the moment he stepped on the boat, like he always had. But… he didn't. It threw him off so badly, he stumbled as soon as he set foot on the deck. Annabeth nearly ran into him standing frozen, reaching out to the ship and only barely getting anything in return.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked worriedly from behind.

Percy frowned. "I've been on boats before… I can control them. But this one…" He could still sense it, but sluggishly. Which made no sense. He'd sailed complete wrecks before, far worse than this; as in they would have sunk (and in some caseshadsunk) had it not been for his power. His frown deepened. That development would make this trip far more difficult. Why had it happened, though? He… had a couple of ideas but nothing concrete.

Then again, he hadn'thadto use a boat for centuries. Maybe he'd just forgotten?

Or maybe the Fates wanted this to be a challenge. He wouldn't put it past them but… he didn't really get that sense.

"I don't like this boat," Luke was saying. "It's practically falling apart. Whose idea was it to use this anyway?"

"It was a gift… from Lord Ares," Annabeth said through gritted teeth. "In payment to the leader of our expedition for supporting his daughter in going on the other quest."

Ah. That made sense. That really was up Ares alley. The boat was, in truth, likely a response to Percy outing Ares to the council. Well, what was he supposed to do? Just let Ares get away with it all, like he had before? Yeah. No. But the best revenge was always living well and succeeding despite the underhanded behavior. Which Percy could do here.

He shrugged. "I can still control water. Even if we run into problems, we'll be fine." Annabeth and Luke exchanged glances. They didn't say anything, but Percy could practically hear them saying, 'That doesnotreassure me.' He sighed, supposing he hadn't really earned their faith yet. (Faith in him as a human, not as a god—he doubted he'd ever earn the latter from them, and wasn't sure he wanted to.)

"Do you have any other ideas how we can go on our quest without offending the God of War?" he asked.

Annabeth's face took on a pinched look that plainly stated her displeasure at being unable to see a way around the current predicament. Luke's jaw tightened, but he showed no other sign of frustration. Even now, he was good.

"No," they said together.

Percy nodded. "I couldn't think of anything either. So we take the boat and go. However," he looked to the daughter of Athena, "even if I didn't expect this minor complication, I would have wanted someone on our team looking into what to do if we lose this ship. Can I count on you for that?" She looked surprised, then thoughtful as she nodded.

Percy smiled, then turned to Luke. "Did you happen to acquire a raft when you saw the state of this… lovely gift?"

Luke blinked at him, completely blank faced, then coughed. "Maybe."

Percy smirked. "Thought so."

Annabeth looked surprised at the older blond. "You did? You were only gone for like… ten minutes."

Luke shrugged. "I knew where the inflatable rafts were kept."

The daughter of Athena looked thoughtful and impressed. Also, maybe a little twitterpated. Percy tried to ignore that last thought (along with the jealousy accompanying it) and grinned.

"Okay, so that's backup plan one, but we still need a couple of others, just in case." He had a couple of ideas of his own, but that would depend on context at the time. So he nodded when Annabeth did the same, and then he glanced at Luke again.

"Where are we putting the supplies?" he pointed to the bag over his shoulder.

Luke pointed ahead, looking tired. "That way. There were already some sacks there when we came on, so maybe we shouldn't touch those? Just in case they're another… gracious gift from our war god. They're about as good as the ship itself." He wrinkled his nose. "They smell… off. Like, rotten onion off."

Percy nodded. "Not surprising, so that's a good call."

He hurried below deck, annoyed at the sudden awful smell and the quick change from light to dark, and doubted they had electricity on the piece of junk they were currently putting all of their hope into. He quickly walked over to the corner where they'd put a couple of crates and barrels (actual barrels, they seriously needed to upgrade, though that might save them from taking on the stench), as well as some heavy-duty pottery and burlap sacks filled with food already. The obviously smelling ones were tucked away in a corner, away from the good food. He laid the potatoes next to the good pile, stepping aside to let Annabeth and Luke set their bags down before hurrying back up into the daylight and fresh air (they'd have to deal with that when sleeping in the cabins too… yay). Even after only a couple of seconds, he squinted a little. They'd need to fix that. Maybe he should get an eye patch? Hmm…

"Alright, is that it?" he asked when his two companions came back on deck. They both nodded. "We all have our personal bags?" He pressed, having to check because he didn't want to risk losing one of them to starvation on the seas or something. The other two nodded again, heading over to one end of the boat and holding up a backpack each. Percy had his own on his back, and he'd triple-checked it for the vitamins (as well as everything else). Good.

"Well, let's start this quest then!" With more effort than he would like to admit to—even for his current abilities—he reached out to the boat. It had a motor he started after some focus and concentration (although it sputtered and spit and would likely die on them very soon), and then they pushed away from the shore and were off to the Sea of Monsters. A year early.

That seemed to be a theme in his new life.

Chapter 8: The Journeys Begin (Unfortunately)

Chapter Text

Percy didn't often revel in the wind. It wasn't his domain, or remotely tied to said domain (except maybe the storms and destruction), but there were two exceptions—two times he did revel: One, when riding a Pegasus, and two, when sailing. There was just something freeing about the smell of the air at sea and the feel of the wind and the swell of the waves below. He stood at the front of the boat, pushing the water beneath it and consequently keeping the vessel afloat easily. For just a couple of moments, he could forget everything: the old future (his past), his friends and how different everything was, his potential future; for just a moment, it was him and the boat and the ocean and nothing else.

It was nice, even if it couldn't last. And it wasn't like he'd go back to people he hated. It was just… good to let go of all the pressure for a moment.

"You know," Annabeth said (obviously trying to fight off her obvious sea-sickness), drawing him out of his reverie, "with the kind of time we're making we shouldn't have a hard time making it to the east side and the Wandering Rocks." She looked down at the map in her hands, then glanced over at Percy. He frowned. The other entrance to the Sea of Monsters. He could probably navigate those fairly safely but…

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure I can get us through the west entrance pretty easily too." He'd been thinking about it as they sailed, going through what he could remember of his previous trip through the Bermuda Triangle. Even though it was dangerous to go through the western entrance, he wasn't sure he wanted to go off course for a couple of reasons. First, he'd been thinking up ways to combat what he could remember, and he had some ideas, so he felt more secure going this way. Second, he needed to get to Circe's island and convince Reyna and Hylla to leave. Hopefully without releasing Blackbeard this time. He liked Reyna. She was one of the friends he'd been able to keep long term… until she'd died on a mission gone wrong. Thalia had been devastated. She always was when someone died on her watch. And she'd grown to care for all of her 'sisters'. Still, Reyna's death had been a hard blow for Percy too. At least she'd lived well into her hundreds.

"Really?" Luke asked, half skeptical, half intrigued. "Pray tell, how will we make it past Scylla and Charybdis?"

Percy shrugged. "I can make a bubble around the boat. We travel under the water near Scylla's cliff."

Luke and Annabeth exchanged a glance Percy couldn't interpret (which really bothered him, he knew Annabeth… except notthistimeline's Annabeth, he had to remind himself). They didn't look too confident though.

"Here, let me prove it," Percy said, just to put their minds at ease. "I'll have to get into the water though." Mainly to save energy. He didn't want to use too energy just showing them what he planned, but he thought this was worth it if he gave them peace of mind.

Even more concerned glances passed between his two companions. He huffed, frustrated. "Come on. We're here in completely magicless waters. If something goes wrong, wouldn't you prefer we figure it out here thanthere?"

"The Sea of Monsters ismagic?" Luke asked.

Percy blinked, surprised he had to ask. "Well, anything that travels with the gods when they move with the Heart of the West is… theoretically." He scratched his neck thoughtfully. "Or at least that's more or less what Annabeth told me last time."

"Last time?" Annabeth asked sharply. Percy froze, mentally kicking himself and bit down on his lips. Apparently she'd found something to focus on hard enough to work past her weak stomach.

Oops.

Luke shot him an unimpressed look.

"Just a second!" Percy said, rushing over the half-rotten wooden planks, grabbing his backpack, and practically tearing it open. It didn't take him long to find Hestia's jar. Pulling it out, he tapped it three times and sensed a barrier rise around them. He let out a sigh, even as part of the burning coal dimmed and fell to the bottom of the jar.

"What is that?" Luke asked, eyes narrowed.

"A gift from Aunt Hestia. We have anywhere from five minutes to half-an-hour before anyone on Olympus can hear us. So yeah."

"Oh, good. I can call you an 'idiot' to your face and no one will wonder why."

"No one would wonder why otherwise," Annabeth muttered. Which, ouch.

"What?" Percy asked Luke petulantly. "She'd probably figured it out anyway."

"I can't believe you just blurted out confirmation of my top option," she said, annoyed. "I was going to ask if you came from the future yesterday before you sprung this quest on us. Now I guess I don't have to."

"See! You did figure it out," Percy said brightly.

She just rolled her eyes, likely still a little miffed that he'd given the game away before she'd been able to confront him, but also happy she'd guessed right.

After a moment of silence, he thought about showing them his under-water bubble trick, but Annabeth beat him to it.

"How far?"

He blinked at the sudden question, then shrugged, looking back to the front of the boat and the expanse of sea before them. "From the future? About three hundred years, give or take."

A long pause. "But you were born human, right?"

Percy nodded. "Yup. Well, half. Just as demigod as you two. Completely mortal, though."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Annabeth look over at Luke, who surprisingly shook his head. Her face pinched into something firm and defiant before looking back at Percy. Luke opened his mouth.

"Annabeth—"

"What happened? In the future you remember?"

Luke let out a long sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Percy would have found his reaction amusing if he wasn't watching Annabeth intently. This could go so wrong in so many ways. Should he tell her? Tell her about Kronos and Gaea and the other Titans and Giants? About his fears and who he may be sacrificing playing god when he was no longer one (and he wasn't entirely sure he should even then)? About their relationship? There was just… so much. And that didn't even get into what happened when they were older.

"I...I'm not sure I should say," he finally said slowly. "Not because anyone's listening in, but… things are already so different. Expectations could be a serious detriment."

She huffed. "You know what's going on, though. About the prophecies? How they were all fulfilled?"

Glancing at Luke, who shrugged, Percy nodded slowly as he returned his eyes back to the daughter of Athena. "By coming back in time, I brought every applicable prophecy with me, fulfilled."

"Because you have knowledge of the future."

"Of apossiblefuture," he emphasized.

She waved him off. "Of course." Then she went into what Percy had dubbed her thinking pose, eyes hard and hand cradled in her chin, blond curls blowing in the air. It was so familiar…

He shook the thought out of his head. Not his Annabeth.

His heart hurt. Again. Would it ever stop?

"You fulfilled the prophecy last time, didn't you?" she asked. Eyebrows raising in pleasant surprise, Percy smiled and nodded. "Did you die but they allowed you to ascend for fulfilling the prophecy?"

His smile disappeared and he glanced up at Luke again. He looked interested but uneasy. Understandable.

Percy would keep him out of this for now.

"I can't say everything—not entirely my story or secret to tell—but…" He took a deep breath.

"A half-blood of the eldest gods
shall reach sixteen against all odds.
And see the world in endless sleep,
a hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.
A single choice shall end his days,
Olympus to preserve or raze."

Both Luke and Annabeth looked surprised now.

"I fought hard to make it to sixteen. Multiple problems popped up before that: exploding volcanoes, the Labyrinth, rising Titans, but I did it. Though I had a lot of help.

"On my sixteenth birthday, the Titans fought us in Manhattan. Morphius or Hypnos had put everyone to sleep—and see the world in endless sleep—and the armies of the Crooked One had cornered us on Olympus while the gods fought Typhon." Annabeth sucked in a breath, mouth dropping open. Percy glanced at Luke, who was looking away, refusing to meet his eyes and jaw clenched. He went on anyway. "He'd obtained the help of another demigod, using them as a host—a stepping stone from the Pit to Earth that could hold himself together."

"Another demigod? Who would do that?" Annabeth asked.

Percy looked away, this time pointedlynotlooking at Luke. "I can't say. Just know, I'm doing what I can to take care of it."

"But—"

"Leave it alone, Annabeth," Luke said, voice quiet but firm.

"But Luke—" she started again.

He cut her off. "Let him finish."

She frowned, and it was obvious she would revisit the topic, but she closed her mouth, lips tight and pursed even as she nodded at Percy to go on. So he did.

"I was the half-blood of the eldest gods. The choice I had to make?" he shook his head. "There are two ways to interpret it. The first was that I was the one to make a decision—to hand over a cursed dagger to a potential enemy who had finally realized they'd chosen the wrong side." He sighed, sitting down, suddenly tired. "It wasn't even the blade we thought it would be."

"A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap," Annabeth whispered to herself. She didn't see Percy eyeing the dagger currently in her belt. But Luke did. He raised his eyebrows in question, glancing at Annabeth pointedly. Percy nodded. Luke looked incredulous, but they both returned their attention to Annabeth when she looked up.

"What was the other interpretation?"

Percy took a breath. "The 'hero's' soul? Everyone assumed it would be the 'half-blood of the eldest gods'. It wasn't. That was the demigod playing host. They chose to be a hero, using the blade I gave them to kill themselves, taking the Titan King with them. By that point, we'd both taken on the curse of Achilles, and only they knew where their weak point was." He looked up at a very pale-faced Luke. "Despite everything they did—all the lives lost because of their decisions, they died a hero, choosing to save humanity. The cursed blade reaped their soul. Olympus was preserved… for better or worse. That was their choice, and I think it was the choice referred to in the prophecy."

"For better or worse?" Annabeth asked, blinking. "What do you mean by that?"

Once again, Percy looked at Luke, who narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. He felt his own resolve harden and hoped Aunt Hestia's shield still held. Because this could get ugly otherwise.

"The Titans will destroy the world if they win, Annabeth. They want to rebuild it to their liking. They are, quite obviously, the worse choice between them and the gods. It's not the first time that's happened, and it won't be the last. Groups keep… kept popping up who had good points but were, in the end, worse choices as leaders of our pantheon. But how long will that last? The gods… aren't great. I say that with insider knowledge. How long until someone comes along who is a better choice? Even if it's more than three hundred years. Maybe it'll be a thousand or two, but… eventually, someone will come along who is a better choice. Choosing them as the lesser of two evils getsverytiring after a while."

The other two looked shocked at his words, neither really seeming to know what to say.

"And yes, to answer your previous question, they offered me godhood after everything that happened in that war. I turned them down."

"What?!" Annabeth asked, more surprise and confusion. Luke looked incredulous.

Percy sighed. "I turned them down, and instead used the wish they gave me instead to make them be the bare minimum of somewhat decent parents. They had to claim their children when a child got to camp or when they turned thirteen. I also made sure camp would recognize the minor gods by making them cabins when a child of theirs arrived at camp. The fact that I had to use my wish for that…" he faded off shaking his head.

"But… but then how…?"

Another deep breath. "I fought in multiple wars, even after that, but I eventually made it to college. I moved in with my girlfriend. We started a family, married once we made peace with the Queen of the gods—"

"You had to makepeacewith—"

"Names," Percy warned. "You say a name and they may be able to break through the barrier. There's a reason these aren't always used. They're flimsy at best and fairly easy to break through if we're not careful."

"Okay," Annabeth said, nodding as if that made sense, which it did in Percy's opinion. "But why did you have problems with her?"

"Well… my then-girlfriend did. It was the result of a bad run-in earlier. The Queen is a bit of a perfectionist who likes everything tied up neatly and perfectly. Perfect children, perfect spouses, perfect families. She likes to pretend—believe—her family is perfect, but as much as she tries, she doesn't seem to realize that everyone has long-since seen past the facade. The face she keeps showing is a farce of what she thinks family should be with little substance to support it. My girlfriend took issue with that."

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something again, but Percy beat her to it. The faster they got off of that tangent, the better.

"In any case, my children and I were attacked one day when separated from my girlfriend (then wife). In order to protect them, I threw myself into what power I could. It… finished cracking something inside of me and the next thing I knew, I had multiple domains all my own and a connection to all of them. Disoriented and confused, I managed to get the girls to safety before recovering in one of my domains." He paused. "It was the single most painful physical thing I've ever experienced." Including anything in Tartarus.

The other two demigods stared, wide-eyed at Percy, who in turn gazed off into space, lost in memories, some of which he could only barely remember at all due to his change in forms. He really hated that.

"What started it?"

Percy flinched, drawing back suddenly. "What?"

"You said thatfinishedcracking something inside you. What started it?"

"Annabeth…" Luke muttered, rubbing his nose again and looking utterly done.

Percy felt his jaw clench. There were any number of times he felt he'd pushed himself and his power too far. The volcano, sitting on his father's throne, Alaska… but the only other time he really remembered feeling something close to that kind of shattering had been in the Pit… with Ahklys.

He looked away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You could answer an age-old question about how to become a god but you don't want to talk about that?" Annabeth asked, incredulous. For the first time in a very,verylong time, Percy felt a frustrating annoyance towards this child—this inexperienced twelve-year-old who just wanted to find everything in the universe and understand it, no matter who she had to step on to get it. For that moment, he didn't see Annabeth Chase, he saw Athena. A young, clueless Athena, but Athena nonetheless. An Athena who had stumbled onto a very painful subject.

"No," he said again.

Annabeth opened her mouth again, face settling into her stubborn look and Percy braced himself for a fight because hecouldn't…not right now. Not to her.

"That's understandable," Luke said quickly, putting a hand on the younger blond's shoulder. Percy almost melted in relief and shot the older boy a grateful look.

"So, anyway, you were about to show us something?"

Oh, right. The underwater bubble. "Yeah. Give me a sec." He walked to the side of the ship, put a hand on the sturdiest part of the rotten railing, and hopped over it. It took him a moment to splash into the water, but as soon as he did, he felt his fatigue and worry melt away with the waves. Smiling, he shot back up to the surface, not needing to take a breath as he burst through to the air above, he probably didn't make as much noise as they expected because he almost immediately heard them talking.

Percy was about to yell out to them to brace themselves when he heard Luke's words.

"…Know he looks harmless right now, but he's not. We both know it. And we both need to be careful."

He didn't quite know why hearing that hurt. Or why the next words hurt worse.

"Right. Sorry, Luke. I didn't mean to push."

"Hey, none of that," he heard the older boy say. "Just be a little more aware in the future."

His gut twisted.

"I will."

Yeah, he'd heard enough. Using his power to make a large splash, he took a loud breath and then called up. "Okay, you guys ready?" And if he was a little upset, well, they likely didn't know him well enough to tell.

Which hurt just as much, now that he thought about it.

"Yeah!" Luke called.

"Luke!" Annabeth hissed. Percy didn't bother to listen to what she was about to say. Instead, he willed water over the boat in a dome, lifting it gracefully from the sea to swirl around said boat. He may or may not have been showing off a little from sheer annoyance and frustration. Then he dragged the boat down and just like that, they were floating underwater, the bottom of the boat still submerged while the top half enjoyed a spacious air pocket. Percy swam beside them in the water, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He didn't want to hear any more conversation between them. Not now.

Instead, he focused on keeping the bubble intact. It wasn't easy, but it was doable. Going past Charybdis and Scylla would be even more difficult, he suspected, but nothing he couldn't handle. He'd make sure of it.

After about thirty seconds or so, he allowed the bubble to float to the top of the water, keeping it back until the boat floated again. Then he took one final breath and launched himself onto the deck, forcing a smile.

"See," he said, hoping he sounded brighter than he felt.

"That was… amazing," Annabeth said. At least she sounded sincere, if wary (again).

He was getting really sick of that tone from her.

It didn't help that she was starting to look sick again. He didn't know if that was from the seasickness or… him.

"Anyways, I'm going to need to rest before we get there, so I'm going to head down and take a nap, smell or not."

"Yeah," Luke agreed slowly. Annabeth nodded beside him.

And that was really getting on Percy's nerves, too. So he shot them a smile, grabbed his backpack (with the jar carefully replaced) and headed below. The ship wasn't great, but it should be fine for a couple of hours on its own.

He found a room with an old mattress and, uncaring of how dirty it was, plopped on it. Closing the door helped to keep out the rotten onion stench, too.

He wished he could say he got to sleep quickly, but it took far too long to come.

xXx

Bianca didn't really know what to think of everything that had happened in the last week. She and Nico had literally gone from their very boring, military boarding school to running for their lives from monsters, finding out their father was a Greek god (theGod of the Dead), and now she was on a quest with two people she barely knew, trusting them to have her back when they were in life-and-death situations.

She glanced at the very intimidating girl sitting on the seat across the aisle from her, light-brown hair pulled back in a pony-tail and a rolled bandanna tied around her forehead. She seemed to have a permanent scowl fixed on her face, and those rare few times she didn't, she looked about ready to kill someone. She had little patience, from what Bianca had seen, and didn't like to talk much, but Luke said she'd be good in a fight, and that Percy had recommend her.

Bianca hoped so.

Then her eyes found the curly head of brown hair in front of her. Grover… She liked the guy. He'd saved her and Nico from the monsters, been welcoming if nervous, and had done everything he could to keep them safe. But now he seemed so stand-offish. He didn't talk to her, didn't seem to want to interact. Apparently finding demigods was different than actual quests because he almost seemed like a different person. Shy and withdrawn… although, to be fair, if they didn't succeed on their quest, they'd likely start a war. She was nervous too. Didn't really feel like talking or planning or whatever.

Which was probably a bad idea, now that she thought about it.

Sighing, she forced herself to think back to the prophecy from that… really creepy mummy in the attic. (Why would anyone keep a mummy in an attic—one that felt strangely familiar though she couldn't place why….)

The shifter's rare child, after dodging fate's sting,
In vengeance doth strive to restore the old King.
You'll chase the trail west, as far as it goes,
Before you can find what is under your nose.

West. That was what she had been given. As far as she could go. There were a lot of cities in the west. Oh, and Hawaii. Apparently that was a state now. She didn't remember it being a state before. But Chiron didn't think the prophecy meant Hawaii, as a child of Hades crossing the ocean or flying in a plane over to Hawaii wouldn't be feasible (good to know) and so he recommended heading to Los Angeles to speak with her father. After all, what else could go farther than the Underworld? Besides, it was as far asshecould go.

She felt like they were missing something, but didn't really have much to go on, so she'd agreed. And now they were heading through New Jersey towards Ohio, at the beginning of what could very well be a multi-day trip across the United States.

All to find what was under her nose.

Which madenosense. The bolt couldn't be there in camp, could it? She'd asked Chiron, and he'd just looked concerned—worried even—as he told her it was highly unlikely. But they had no way to really look for it, and he didn't know where to start, so what else could she do but follow her prophecy?

She was beginning to see why Percy hated them.

"Grab your crap," Clarisse's harsh voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Bianca blinked, partially at the crude language, partially at the other girl's obvious nerves. The daughter of Hades hadn't seen Clarisse nervous since she'd met her that morning.

"What?"

"Something's wrong," she said, looking up. Bianca followed her gaze but only found the roof of the bus.

"What's wrong?" she asked, returning her gaze to Clarisse, who was grabbing her backpack.

"Can't you feel it?" she asked, uncaring for the few other passengers on the bus.

"Feel what?" Grover asked, although he seemed to be gathering his things too. Not that he had much, but still. Bianca figured if Grover was following suit, it would be a good idea for her too. She grabbed her backpack and took out the small, Stygian knife she'd found on her pillow that morning. It had a note saying no one besides a child of the underworld could wield it without dire consequences, and it could even send the undead back to the underworld if used correctly.

She wasn't sure if she should be happy she had a weapon that could send undead away or that there were undead to kill… or re-kill?

"Something menacing," Clarisse whispered, still looking up. "Coming in with the clouds. We have to get off this bus. Now."

She grabbed for the emergency brake*. The bus screeched to a stop, throwing Bianca into Grover. Clarisse didn't seem fazed as she braced her hand on the seats lining the aisle and used that to jump over her questmates. With a spear in her hand, even.

Okay, Bianca was impressed.

Or, she would be if she wasn't still on the floor tangled up in a satyr's limbs.

Amidst yelling and screaming of all sorts, the three managed to get off of the bus and to the edge of the road just in time to see a lightning bolt hit the pavement just up the road… likely where the bus would have been had they kept going. The strike was blinding and followed almost immediately by thunder so loud, she couldn't hear anything afterwards. Clarisse still grabbed her and Grover's arms, dragging them into the woods on the side of the road.

Bianca had a hard time taking her eyes off of the crater surrounded by broken pavement, easily the size of a semi-truck tire, with branches zig-zagging out through the road around it. Somehow she didn't think that would have ended well for anyone on the bus and she swallowed.

Later, she would be angry that the king of the gods was happy to kill innocents to enact some form of revenge. She would also wonder exactly how he wanted to get his bolt back if she was dead.

It started to dawn on her where the gods' priorities lay, and she didn't like what she saw.

Gods are not perfect, Percy's words flitted through her mind. She was beginning to wonder if he knew just how much of an understatement that was. She suspected he did, but didn't have the time to really explain it to them on that bus back then. A much safer bus ride than what she'd just escaped from.

Eventually, the trees and bushes blocked her view of the road and she finally turned around, hurrying to keep up with Clarisse. No one said anything as they continued their nervous trek through the woods, hoping to find some other way that would lead them west fast enough to find the bolt and get back on time.

Chapter 9: I Make Friends With the Sarlacc

Chapter Text

"Percy?" a firm but cautious voice drew him out of his sleep. He'd been dreaming of Annabeth—his Annabeth—laughing good-naturedly at his attempts to plan, but then applauding him for making progress. Groaning, he opened his eyes, shifting on the stiff material he lay on. It smelled bad… like something that had been left to decay. Not as overwhelming as the stench from the hold, but still disgusting. Though now that he thought about it, the hold-stench was back too.

Turning to the side, he saw Luke standing in the doorway, watching him warily. "We're almost there."

Percy nodded and put his hands under his chest, shoving himself up. Right. The old mattress that seemed to be more dust than anything, in a room that looked about to cave in on itself inside a boat that looked (and felt) much the same. They were probably luckier than he wanted to admit it hadn't collapsed on them while he slept.

"Is…" Luke started as Percy brushed by him, maybe a little too quickly, "everything okay?"

No, he thought.You fear me, and hate the people I relate to the most. Not that I blame you, but…the wrong end of 'guilty by association' sucked.

Huh,Linkin Parkwas still around, weren't they?

No,focus. Here and now. Good bands with good music later. He wasn't a child of Apollo.

"Yeah. Just tired," he said, not wanting to really get into anything just then. Not if they were coming up on the entrance to their quest.

He stepped onto the deck and into the heat of the summer day. The winds and waves were perfect for sailing, and the heat hadn't bothered him for a long time, even after he'd come back. The only thing marring the lovely day were the cliffs in the distance under what looked like a storm. A perpetual storm that not everyone could see. Because those cliffs, according to every map in the world, shouldn't be there.

He'd asked Hecate once why The Mist showed mortals such strange things sometimes, and she'd laughed.

"It's gained a sentience of its own, Perseus,"she'd said."Even now, it is not something I could ever fully control again. The Mist is The Mist, and it exists on its own whims."

He hadn't much liked that answer, to Hecate's amusem*nt. He was convinced she was a sad*st.

As he thought, the storm itself didn't actually exist. Even as they drew closer, it had no effect on the water or winds. It also began to fade the closer they got. Was this how it looked last time? He couldn't remember. That had been a… rough ride, after all. Hopefully this one would be smoother.

He mentally winced. He'dhadto jinx himself.

"Alright," he turned to Annabeth. "Keep an eye out for which side Scylla is on and which side has Charybdis. Also, I'm not entirely certain of my stamina in this body, so the closer we can get, the better." He thought he remembered Scylla being on the right, but he could be wrong.

"Of course," Luke muttered.

"Right," Annabeth said sharply, a pair of binoculars held up to her face. She'd seemed to get over her seasickness a little, or she was just too focused again. That was so like her.

"I'm going to get into the water once everything's in sight without binoculars," Percy decided. He'd need the power boost… or at least the stamina boost, because he really didn't want to exhaust himself too much when just getting into the cursed sea.

"Isn't that a little close?" Luke asked.

Percy shrugged. "Probably."

"Di immortales," the older blond muttered.

"For now, secure everything," Percy said. He may not be able to control the boat very well, but he still knew what needed to be done. If they'd been on a sailing ship, he'd probably be scurrying around and fixing the sails. Right now, though…

"Everything below deck is as secured as it can be," Luke returned.

Percy raced over to a coil of rope. Yup, it looked like something they'd brought on board, so probably something they could mostly trust. He held the rope out to Luke.

"Including yourselves."

Luke blinked, just staring at the rope. He looked surprised.

"Look," Percy could tell Annabeth was listening in too, "I'm a child of Poseidon, sure. But so are they. And even with my memories, they are much,mucholder than me and I am very much a demigod right now. If this comes down to who can manipulate water the best, I don't know if I can win. I can definitely put up enough of a fight to get us through, but I think it would ease all of our minds if everyone was secure. Redundancies exist for a reason."

Luke's eyebrows furrowed, but he still didn't look happy about it. He did, however, nod and take the rope. "Right."

"I'm going to get all the packs. Tie them to you too."

"Just in case," the older boy deadpanned. Percy shrugged and rushed off to get his and Luke and Annabeth's packs. Within two minutes, he was back with all of them. He double checked them, making sure zippers were up and drawstrings tied tightly as Annabeth and Luke tied themselves together, and then to the post holding the ship's helm.

Funny, this wasn't the same ship Percy remembered Clarisse taking on this quest, but it was similar. More modern but more run down too, and still close enough to trigger memories.

Leaving them to prepare, Percy climbed a ladder into a lookout post so he could have a better vantage point. He'd wondered why Annabeth hadn't come up here, but got his answer after his first step almost had the floor giving way underneath him. Still, he managed to get to the front-facing window and knelt on the ledge to give himself something stable to brace against.

He could see the break in the cliffs getting closer… not fast enough, though. Oh, right, he wasn't controlling the ship. Mentally kicking himself, he reached out to the water underneath them and the whole vessel picked up speed. It didn't take much, and they all wanted to get this over with. He heard some shouts of surprise from below, but no one said anything else.

"Scylla's on the right!" Annabeth yelled a couple of seconds later.

"Acknowledged!" he called back, not releasing his hold on the water as he carefully made his way back out of the room and down the ladder.

It took them minutes at that speed to reach a point where Percy felt he could release his control and prepare himself to take them all below

"I'm going in," he called.

"Acknowledged," Annabeth called back.

Percy almost smiled as he dived over the side of the boat. A rush of strength, home, and belonging washed over him and he reveled in it for a moment before he registered something nearby. It was, for lack of a better word,enormous. The power and presence… overwhelming. Unable to stop himself, he turned towards the sea's entrance. Last time, he didn't remember anything like this but now… he could see the rocks in the distance, deep and dark in the water. Light filtered through the gap between them, allowing him to see a massive, well, worm. Like someone had taken the Sarlacc from Star Wars and the sandworms from Dune, mixed them together and made them aquatic. Even from where they were, a relatively safe distance away, he could see folds of skin undulate as the whole body swirled slowly, sucking in the water overhead, sort of dangling there and disappearing when the light stopped penetrating the ocean.

It took him a minute to shake himself out of his surprise and he shot upwards, popping his head out of the water.

"Brace yourselves!" he yelled.

He didn't wait for a confirmation before slipping back under the water and taking a deep breath. Trying to ignore the presence, he grabbed a hold of the water, lifting it over and around the ship, before dragging it down. The giant air bubble certainly wanted to return to the surface, but Percy kept a tight hold on it and guided the ship forward. On the deck, he could see Luke and Annabeth holding onto each other and one of the poles in the center of the fore deck. He approved of them not holding onto the helm itself, even if they were still tied to it. The wheel could and would likely still turn and Percy didn't want them to get hit and hurt.

They approached the gap carefully, but quickly.

Who?

The thought didn't come in words, but intention, ramming into Percy so hard it almost took his breath away.

Percy, he found himself responding before he realized. He kicked himself just before the impression of confusion also slammed into him. Yet, as overwhelming as the presence was—not concentrated like a god's, but still massive—he did not sense anything actually malicious.

He kept an eye on the boat as he mentally pushed it forward, but he turned his attention on the enormous, worm-like being, following the nearly cylindrical body down to where it merged with the depths.

His domain.

He could sense how she connected to the earth, probably for stability, and could stretch her body up or contract it depending on where she needed to be to eat.

And he could feel how she needed to eat.

Who?She asked again, this time more forcefully.

Percy gulped. Around them, she had control of the water, and he couldn't fight that, not without using too much power himself. At least he was below the enormous toilet-like whirlpool… which was strange. Large bodies of water needed undercurrents to make a whirlpool like that. Then again, most whirlpools weren't exactly enormous monsters drinking as much as they could to get as much food as possible… or maybe she was actively not attacking him, and by extension, the boat? But why? Curiosity? Or something more sinister?

Brother, he answered, maybe a little desperately, hoping that wouldn't make her want to kill him like so many others would. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Luke and Annabeth staring at him, saying something, but he couldn't hear them. He still forcefully pushed them on, having entered the trench between the cliffs now. And the currents hit them. He grit his teeth, doing everything he could to keep them on track.

Brother?The surprise in the question surprised him, drawing his attention away again. He could still sense no true malice from her.

And somehow, the rest of the world faded away around him, except for that one, small tie to the boat and bubble. He found himself swimming towards the enormous presence as if in a trance. He didn't know why he felt so drawn to her, but one moment he was several yards away, and the next he hovered in front of her. Somehow unafraid, he lifted a hand, reaching out. She didn't move except to watch him with a giant, brown-green eye he could only see due to proximity. His fingers brushed her skin. It reminded him of sandpaper, but both smoother and rougher at the same time somehow.

With a thought, the water brought him even closer and he brought his forehead down to rest on the strange surface. It tickled.

Sister, he thought. Because she was family. And maybe that didn't always mean something, but sometimes itdid, and he could sense no reason why she shouldn't be included.

Brother, the rough impression came back, still confused but pleased. He smiled.

Hungry,she said after a moment, voice longing.

His smile vanished. Right. He remembered how she looked from above, with those rows of teeth and the swirling water around them… with the awful smell and the sound of an enormous, flushing toilet. Of course she was hungry. The thought brought him back to the present, and he sensed the boat with Annabeth and Luke, still moving forward, thankfully.

Sorry, he thought sadly, genuinely meaning it.I can't let you eat my friends or my boat.

A sense of frustration and anger rushed through him, followed by resignation. Understanding.

Lonely. The thought reached him, sounding so heart-broken. He reached back almost immediately, even as he lifted his head back to stare at the blue-gray skin before him. It pulsed and undulated, but it didn't seem like she could move much. Not really.

Scylla? He asked.

Mean.Many heads. All yell at me.

He frowned again, glancing back to the barely visible wall on the other side of the trench.I'm sorry,he said again.You don't deserve that.

A wave of that same sad resignation rushed over him and he found himself drawing closer to her a second time.

How about I come to visit you when I can?

Surprise slammed into him, followed by excitement, and then skepticism.

It might take me a while,he promised,but I will return.

Please!

So polite, even despite her monstrous appearance, size, and nature. Suddenly, he was reminded of Tyson, and how the cyclops wasn't there on this trip as he had been in the past. Percy suddenly very much longed to see his brother.

Pushing that aside, he instead projected his own satisfaction and anticipation to her. Yes, they may not have a lot to speak about, but he still sensed she could teach him something, and he'd love to just bask in this overwhelming but surprisingly calm presence. Then he glanced at the boat and bubble, just barely visible in the distance now.

I have to go.

Stay.

I can't.I have people relying on me to finish this quest.

Lonely.

He leaned forward and put his forehead against her again.

Sister, he said.Always.

She still didn't want to see him go, and he felt guilty doing so, but he still pushed away from her and swam towards his friends. She could have stopped him. They both knew it with the amount of power he'd shown. She could have prevented the water from releasing him, from letting him pass through… but she didn't.

For being so hungry and massive, he was a little shocked to find that she was one of the better Greek monsters he'd ever encountered.

Eventually, he left her sphere of influence and the sense of just water returned, even if it obviously didn't want to bend to his will. Different from normal water in that sense. Usually the waves almost scrambled to obey him. He'd noticed it before, when he'd come, but… not to this extent. Pausing, he reached out to the water trying to sense and understand it. It felt… old. And it reeked of magic. Not anyone's magic, per se, but just… magic in general. It felt like it had a sentience all its own, not connected with his father, or anyone really.

Well, maybe Pontus or Hydros. To be fair, the sea had its own sentience in and above the gods, but not so… disconnected. Almost rebellious. Ancient. Untamed.

And truthfully, it felt refreshing in a way. He was happy to continue to let this sea not actually answer to anyone as a whole, as long as he could use his powers to help his friends.

Speaking of…

He politely asked the sea to let him through. It wasn't instantaneous, but eventually it conceded and he found himself rushing through what the ancient, Greek seas must have felt like. Moments later, he found himself next to the bubble holding the old steam ship inside. It looked fine, although Annabeth and Luke were arguing heatedly with each other.

He frowned and moved the ship upwards. Within seconds, it had breached the surface and he released his hold on it. Almost immediately, tiredness set in. He let himself just drift in the ocean for a couple more seconds before he forced himself to move to the edge of the boat and let the water bring him to the railing and over the deck. He may or may not have stumbled when he set down. Looked like he was due for another nap… and here he'd just woken up.

Ugh.

"Percy!" Annabeth ran over to him, followed by a relieved looking Luke. "What happened?"

Percy blinked. "What… do you mean?"

"You were there, next to us, and then youweren't. You were gone and we didn't know what happened! I was about ready to turn the boat around."

"No, you weren't," Luke said, arms crossed. "We would have continued on."

"Luke—" Annabeth started in her 'I'm right and I'll make you understand why' voice, so Percy cut in.

"Good thing you don't have to," he said placatingly. "And I'm sorry I worried you. I just… Charybdis had a larger presence than I remember. She's far more powerful than I thought and it was hard to focus on anything else."

"You fought her for control of the sea back there?" Luke asked, face paling.

Percy shook his head. "No. I just talked to her."

Silence, then, "What?" they both asked.

"She wanted to know who we were."

"You didn't actually tell her, did you?" Luke asked. Annabeth nodded emphatically.

"I told her my name, and that we're siblings."

More silence. The other two were staring at him.

"What? You both know she's a daughter of Poseidon, too. My father is the father of monsters. And yes, I've asked myself what that means about me many times in my life, so please don't go there." He didn't have the ability to deal with that at the moment. "Not right now."

More exchanged glances, but his fellow demigods said nothing, so he just went on.

"Anyway, she's very hungry and… lonely. I promised her I'd come back to visit."

"You what." Luke sounded so done.

Percy shrugged again. "I'll have the ability to visit whenever I want, eventually." And again, he may or may not have sounded all too bitter about that. Luke didn't seem to notice, although Annabeth frowned thoughtfully.

"You know what," Luke said, "whatever. We got past that. We're good. Great job." He said it as if he were washing his hands of everything. Which Percy really couldn't blame him for.

"Anyway, I gotta go find some ambrosia or take another nap," Percy said, smothering a yawn. "That took… a lot out of me. For now, just keep sailing ahead and try to avoid any islands. Unless there's one with a lot of ships around it. Then come find me."

"What island is that?" Luke asked warily.

"Circe's island," Percy replied tiredly. "Which, normally I'd avoid, but there are some important demigods there I need to at least try and talk to."

"Important?" Annabeth asked carefully.

Percy nodded. "As in potentially very necessary for likely future problems."

"Let me guess, world-ending problems?" Luke muttered.

The time traveler smiled, a little sharply but didn't say anything otherwise. Let them draw their own conclusions. "Anyway, do you two need me for anything before I head below deck?"

They shook their heads.

"Okay. If something happens, wake me up. Otherwise, I'll take over when I wake up. If you two want to sleep while I take night watch, that's fine. Just let me know."

More nods before he trudged over to his backpack and untied it from the line. He rummaged through it and pulled out a cube of ambrosia, nipping off the corner and reveling in the warmth that spread through his body before putting it back and making his way below deck and the dusty room. It wasn't great, but itwassomething and he could still sleep, so it would have to be enough.

He lay there on the lumpy mattress for several minutes, listening to Annabeth and Luke talk somewhere above him. He couldn't make out words of their conversation, but he wasn't sure he wanted to. What were they discussing? Probably him again. Or maybe Thalia. Or both. Either way, he tried to ignore the ache in his heart for his old friends and eventually managed to drift off.

xXx

He found himself in a fairly familiar wooded area, following two demigods and a satyr as they trudged through it all, looking a little miserable, but also focused.

"This way! Can't you smell that?" Grover asked.

"Yeah," Bianca said, hurrying. Clarisse even nodded excitedly.

"It smells likefood," the daughter of Ares said after a moment.

Wait… did that mean…

Sure enough, when the three of them came across a familiar, abandoned-looking diner with a warehouse in back and several statues out front, Percy felt his jaw drop.

Seriously? He really wanted to give the Fates a good reaming. Maybe they just wanted to make sure Medusa was taken care of, but by two twelve/thirteen-year-old demigods and a 28-year-old Satyr?

His demigod domain wasnothappy right now.

"No!" he yelled out. "Stop it! Don't go in there!"

No one so much as twitched their eyes away from the sight in front of them.

"Come on, guys! Grover, man!Grover!" But the satyr must have been even more tired or frustrated than in Percy's memories because he just kept marching forward.

"Clarisse!" he tried next, but to no avail.

"Bianca!PleaseBianca! You can't go in there! It's Medusa!" Just when he thought he wouldn't be able to get through, though, the dark-haired girl paused and looked around, blinking.

Percy felt hope rise inside him. "Yes! Yes, Bianca! Stop them! Don't let them go any closer! Get out of there!"

"Um… guys," she said, still blinking and frowning, as if trying to figure something out. "I think something's wrong."

"It's just your imagination," Grover said almost automatically. Percy frowned. He'd always thought it had been the monster smell that had set Grover off previously, but maybe the magic just latched onto anyone in the lead? Although Clarisse didn't so much as acknowledge that anyone had spoken.

"It'sMedusa!" Percy yelled again. "Bianca! Listen to me!"

The daughter of Hades kept looking around, still puzzled. "I… um… guys…"

"It's a diner," Clarisse said. "What could be dangerous about that?"

So much. Percy just focused on Bianca. "Don't listen to them! Come on!"

"I… suppose," the smaller girl said hesitantly.

"No! Don't listen! Bianca, come on!" Percy kept trying, but the three of them wove through the statues and up to the door. "Don't do it! Run away!" But Bianca couldn't seem to hear him after all as all three of them waited calmly (for a demigod) while Clarisse knocked on the door. At least Bianca still looked uneasy.

The door opened and there stood Medusa, sunglasses on and skin covered almost from head-to-toe. She looked older than he remembered too.

"Well, what have we here?" she asked gleefully, looking at the three children in front of her and licking her lips. Had she seemed so creepy before? Percy didn't think so… but had that been the magic back then? Probably.

"Bianca…" he tried again, pushing power through his demigod domain out to her, reaching for her presence. She jumped a little, whipping her head around worriedly. Percy kept pushing until he noticed Medusa's gaze was directly on him. He stopped half-way through calling out again, staring at the monster like a deer caught in headlights.

"You look just like your father," she said, reaching a hand up to her glasses. Percy tried to back away but couldn't really. He tried to close his eyes, but nothing happened. She moved her glasses down ever so slightly, just enough for him to see her eyes, but not the others.

For a moment, he was lost in the gaze there, purple and glowing andgorgeousand… he felt himself begin to stiffen from the tips of his fingers, the sensation slowly spreading up and then—

"Percy!" He yelped and jumped up. Annabeth stood in the doorway worriedly. The boat rocked hard as his power reacted, reaching out around him. The younger version of his wife braced herself as the boat tipped roughly, but settled.

"I'm… um…" he started, not knowing what to say.

"You were shouting, yelling for Bianca."

He closed his eyes, trying not to remember the gaze of a gorgon. Even if it had been in his dreams, shouldn't he be turned to stone? Apparently not. Thank Chaos.

"Yeah. I dreamed I saw her group walk up to Medusa's warehouse."

Annabeth's eyebrows rose. "Medusa?"

Percy nodded.

She bit her lip. "I mean… I'm sure she's okay."

The time traveler just nodded again, then got up. What else could he do about it? If he left now, he might get there in time… but while the forest had been near the river, he didn't knowwhereit was and could he find them? Would it be worth it? Just after he'd gotten into the Sea of Monsters? Could he leave Annabeth and Luke right now?

He concluded it wasn't worth it, but he hated that fact.

Rely on others once again.

He would have to trust Bianca, Clarisse, and Grover. Didn't mean he had to like it.

"You've only been asleep for a couple of hours," Annabeth said slowly, drawing him out of his reverie

Percy shrugged. "I don't think I'll be able to go to sleep after that," he muttered. His fellow questgoer nodded, understanding.

"Demigod dreams."

He joined her nod. "I really hate them sometimes."

"Luke told me to try and get some sleep next, so I'm going to take the room next door." She thumbed over her shoulder.

Percy took a long breath for a moment. Holding his wife for comfort would be very helpful at the moment. But yeah, not this Annabeth. He just nodded in acknowledgment. She returned the gesture and disappeared from the door. Meanwhile, Percy just sat there and breathed, still doing his best to avoid the rotten stench, before he managed to get to his feet and trudge up to the deck.

Chapter 10: If You Don't Want To Know The Answer, Don't Ask Questions

Chapter Text

Luke turned to watch Percy carefully as he came on deck. The time-traveler noticed immediately and tried (with varying amounts of success) to act nonchalant and unworried.

"Annabeth's going to sleep," he said, yawning and stretching. "See anything up here?"

The older boy shook his head. "Nothing. If I didn't know any better, I'd think we were still on the normal sea."

Percy groaned. "Youhadto jinx it."

Luke snorted.

"You want to look aft and I'll look forward?" Percy asked.

The other boy didn't answer, just watching him.

"Luke?"

"Kronos showed me more dreams."

"Styx," Percy spat, both for Luke confirming that and the fact that he'd said the Titan's name. Glad he'd brought his backpack with him, he swung it over his shoulder and quickly withdrew Aunt Hestia's jar, tapping it three times. Then he let out a long breath, both tired and relieved as more coal coated the bottom of the jar. "We have five minutes." Because if that didn't draw attention, he didn't know what would.

"It's difficult to argue with what I saw."

Percy sighed. "What did he show you?"

"A volcano eruption. And you."

The time-travler winced. "To be fair, I didn't know I could do that at the time."

"People died."

Percy drew in on himself a little. He knew it made him look vulnerable, but he hated thinking about that. It had been his first real destruction.

"Actually, there were no deaths. The only casualties were injuries," he said quietly. "I looked into it." Though some of those had been pretty severe.

Luke blinked, his frown turning thoughtful. "Oh."

"Why did you think people died?" Percy asked, frowning. "He didn't show you anything like that, did he?"

A moment of silence before the older boy shook his head. "No. Though… I'm beginning to see what you mean by him twisting the truth. He just said casualties, and then insinuated people died." He took a deep breath. "I didn't even notice."

That made Percy feel both better and worse. "Yeah, he does that."

More silence fell between them before Luke spoke up awkwardly. "So… what happened?"

Percy sighed. "Cabin nine's father?" Luke nodded. "One of his forges. We were tasked to go and see why it was active when he hadn't been there recently. We found a couple hundred telekhines—seal-like monsters who are good with forging—making things for their master." He snorted. "They even had a class for monster children there." He shook his head. "It was me and Annabeth. We got found out, but she had her invisibility cap and we needed to get that information out and it was her quest, so I told her to run. Then I distracted the monsters. They cornered me above the main shaft. My father's the Earthshaker. I was desperate. I was reaching for anything I could, and I guess I just grabbed the magma instead of the nearby lake or river I'd been hoping to find. I brought it towards me." He opened his hands by the side of his face, wiggling his fingers. "Boom."

Luke stared at him. "And you did that… as a demigod."

Percy nodded.

"That's… on a whole other level than other demigods. How did nobody see your ascension coming?"

The time-traveler snorted. "Wait until you see Nico's army of undead and shadow traveling, and then we'll talk."

More staring. Percy just smirked.

"But," Luke said, a little weakly, "Thalia couldn't… she…"

The boat rocked a little as Percy leaned back against the door frame with a sigh. "Thalia has a lot of power behind her. She's an excellent fighter and her lightning strikes are downright scary. But she's scared. Honestly, I think that's her secondary fatal flaw. Her father is the king of the gods and lord of the skies, but she's scared of heights. And she kind of hates her father and doesn't want to be anything like him, too, so she's scared of making the choices he'd make. Not that I blame her." he shook his head. "I think her father loves her in his own way, but, like most gods, he's more than a little narcissistic. I'm not sure hecanreally care about anyone outside of himself. Not his wife, not his children, not his lovers. At least not in and above what they can do for him. Notice how many gods on the council are directly related to him? There's a reason many of the others accuse them of nepotism."

An evening breeze blew by them as Percy looked back at his companion. Luke had an unreadable expression on his face as he studied the other demigod.

"You really did know her."

Percy blinked, then chuckled. "Yeah. I did. We butted heads like none other but there were very few people I'd want to have my back over her."

Luke bit his lip, looking anywhere but at Percy, obviously having something to say. The time-traveler just waited.

"What… happened to her? In your timeline?"

The loyalty and longing behind that statement reached him and he smiled warmly. "She joined the hunt, actually. The lieutenant was… killed," he looked down at that statement, still remembering Zoe's final moments vividly. "To stop herself from ever reaching sixteen, Thalia was offered that place instead–and in memory of the previous lieutenant–the day before her sixteenth birthday."

More shifting. "And… me? How did she… react?"

This time, it was Percy's turn to study Luke. "Do you really want to know?" he finally asked.

The nineteen-year-old paled, but also looked up and met Percy's gaze. "No. But I think I have to."

Percy smiled again, proud of Luke for that, but it was sad. How could it not be? "She thought she could talk you out of your new allegiance, but you and the Titans kept offering her power, poking at her fatal flaw. She resisted, and in the end… you two fought each other and," he paused, taking a breath, "you ended up falling off of a cliff. I know she ended up joining the hunt partially because of you."

Luke's complexion had gone from pale to green.

"She was still alive when I got thrown back here," he finally finished. "Despite me being a male and a god, she was one of my best friends. I valued her friendship more than just about anything else besides the camps' safety." Both of them, but he wasn't about to enlighten Luke to that. Not yet.

The sky continued to darken (a theme with their 'talks') as Luke just stood there, staring at the deck. Eventually, he cleared his throat.

"I… have to go think," he said. "We opened the barrel of apples. It's only half-full, but if you want something to eat, it's there. The other barrel is strawberries. I think Annabeth opened that."

Percy nodded again. "Thanks."

Luke returned the nod, but distantly, eyes not focusing on anything as he turned and made his way around the side of the ship towards the back. The younger demigod watched him go, wondering what conclusions the older boy would come to.

Eventually, he shook his head and made his way across the semi-rotten deck to the front of the ship. He leaned on the railing and pushed his senses out. They were making decent progress, even if he didn't think the ship would make the return trip nearly so well. They'd be lucky if they got anywhere with it. Maybe he could switch it out for Blackbeard's ship once they found Circe's island? Would that be better, though? Now that he was having a hard time controlling boats. That could just be Ares' own power interfering… but there had been a lack of connection there that fed into domains. Maybe because his own domains included the deep more than anything now? Would he be able to control submarines? An interesting thought that definitely needed testing. Lots of testing. And fortunately, Circe's island had other, newer ships too, right? Faster ones he could experiment with? They probably didn't have any submarines.

He couldn't remember.

Although, thinking of, he should probably try and figure out what to say to Reyna and Hylla when they found the island.

And, wait, couldn't he stretch out and sense, even if the water here didn't like to be controlled…

He closed his eyes and reached as far as he could. Surprisingly, he actually sensed several islands or other areas of interest within his influence. Frowning, he focused harder. One was a pile of rocks sticking out of the sea, probably more of a death-trap for ships than anything else. One had a cave on it and something massive and dangerous inside. Percy decided he didn't want to know. The next one seemed pretty good, actually. Nothing dangerous, a little small, but otherwise a nice, calm island. He moved on, focusing on the next one. It was bigger… much bigger. With a lot of boats around the nearest port.

Bingo.

He grinned and poked at the water until he turned the boat in the direction he needed to go, and then let go. He wanted to give Annabeth time to sleep and Luke time to think, so he didn't speed the boat up. They'd get there in a couple of hours at this rate.

Instead, he just stood there, enjoying the smell of the salty air and the motion of the boat. He didn't often feel as at peace as he did just then, ignoring all of the problems that would come his way, and how much his companions didn't trust him, and how few people he felt he could trust himself. For just those couple of hours, it was him and the untamable sea.

After a little while, though, his thoughts strayed back to Bianca. Waving his hand, he created a mist, manipulating it just enough to create a rainbow.

Calling out to Iris, he asked her to connect him to Bianca Di Angelo. When it took a little bit too long to connect, he took out another drachma. "As My Lady deserves more for her hard work, I also offer this," he said, tossing the extra coin into the rainbow. After a couple more seconds, he heard consistent thumps in the background. A train?

"Huh? Percy?" a voice thick with sleep answered him. He could barely see anything in the dark, but he did see the outline of a young head.

"Bianca?" he asked, relieved. They'd survived Medusa.

"You're kind of hard to hear."

Percy sighed and took out another drachma. "My Lady Iris," was all he said this time as he tossed another coin at the picture. It disappeared. "Better?"

"Much."

"That Prissy?" another, familiar (if high-pitched) voice muttered grumpily.

"This 'Prissy' could still take you any day," Percy said, grinning.

Clarisse told him some very unflattering things that made Bianca gasp.

"Oh, get used to it, princess," the daughter of Ares muttered and turned the other direction.

"Are you guys on a train?" Percy asked.

"Yeah."

"Why is it so dark?"

A pause. "We… may not have had the money to pay for it," Bianca whispered.

Percy winced. "Make sure you get off before the station, or you guys could find yourself fighting with humans."

"Doesn't sound too hard," Clarisse muttered.

"Humans twice your height, who may have training, and who could put you in jail where you can't hurt anyone because celestial bronze doesn't work on them. That's in an above how you're supposed toavoiddrawing them into our problems."

More silence. "Shove it, Jackson," Clarisse said. Eh, she wasn't swearing at him, so she probably got his point.

"You're welcome. How's the quest going? Where's Grover?"

"Here," a scratchy voice that almost didn't sound like his friend at all drifted through the darkness.

"Missing your enchiladas?" Percy asked, amused. Grover would prefer food over more or less anything. "Or the cans Mr. D conjures for you guys?"

"Um… both?" Then a whisper. "Food?"

"Yes, Grover. Food." Percy rolled his eyes, remembering his first entrance to camp. He leaned closer, whispering to Bianca. "It's his safe place."

Even in the darkness, she looked confused. "Safe place? But… food isn't a place."

Right. 1940's. "I mean it makes him feel safe," Percy explained. "It's a basic need, so it's understandable that when some people eat, they feel safe."

"He's right," Grover muttered, maybe a little bitterly.

Percy frowned. "Been a hard quest then?"

Clarisse snorted. "If you call being attacked by the guy we're trying tohelp, fighting freakingMedusa,and still not really having any actual idea where we're going 'hard', then yeah."

Yeah, Percy remembered that first quest very well, thank you. He would also throw afitif Zeus tried to attack any ofPercy'sdemigods while on a quest for Olympus. Because all demigods that came to camp werehis.

He felt himself bristle and that destructive side poked its head up. Percy took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm. The last thing they needed was a storm on the sea, or even choppy waters.

"That sounds rough," he said. "We've only had to bypass a giant ocean worm trying to swallow us whole and a many-headed monster that wants to eat us and happens to be lightning fast… and they're both my sisters."

"Your sisters?" Bianca asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Percy sighed. "Daughters of Poseidon. Charybdis is actually pretty cool though. I talked with her while the ship sailed under the sea in a bubble. I mean, it worked." He paused. "Oh, Clarisse, thank your dad for our ship, will you? Although it might fall apart soon and we'll have to find something else, it still got us here."

A pause. "Do it yourself."

Percy snorted, amused. That was so like the Clarisse he knew.

"So, you guys are heading where now?"

"Just west," Bianca said tiredly. "Not entirely sure where."

"Avoid the Lotus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas if you pass by," Percy warned.

Bianca blinked in surprise. "The Lotus… but that's where Nico and I stayed."

Oh, perfect timing! "Seriously?" Percy asked. "It's run by the Lotus Eaters. I had a dream about it."

"I'm telling you, an Apollo legacy," Clarisse muttered.

Percy grinned at the comment, but schooled his face when focusing back at Bianca. It was easier to see her now that he'd been squinting for a while. It helped that he wasn't staring into any light seeing as his quest was heading east.

"People who go there don't know how much time they spend there. You could spend what seems like a day there and you end up actually spending weeks or months. Spend months there, and it could be years or decades."

"Wait," Grover spoke up hesitantly, "you're saying Bianca and her brother aren't from this time?"

"If they stayed in the Lotus Hotel, it's highly possible."

Bianca bit her lip, looking down (at least Percy thought that was what she was doing). "I… don't really remember before the Hotel. You and Grover know that, Percy." Percy nodded, assuming his satyr friend did too, despite not being able to see him at all. "But… I think it was a long time ago."

"How long?" Clarisse asked in probably the kindest tone Percy had ever heard from her.

Bianca took a deep breath. "I remember a war. I think we were escaping it."

"As in World War II?" Grover asked. Of course he'd know.

"The one the Big Three made an oath to not have kids over?" Clarisse asked, shocked.

"I don't know!" Bianca said, a touch of hysteria in her voice. "I just remember everyone being scared, and then a lot of traveling."

"If that's true," Percy said slowly, "Hades didn't break the oath at all." More silence only broken by the sound of the train in the background. "Are you going to speak to your father, Bianca?"

"Yes…" she said slowly. "It was the only idea anyone had when going west."

"Ask him about it. He may not be able to tell you, but he might. Just… be careful, okay?"

She sighed. "I don't know if that will actually help—being careful, I mean."

"You'll make it," Percy said. "Like I said, you have a good team, and you're stronger than you know. People fear death for a reason, and you have a certain amount of power over that domain. Well, either that, Earth, shadows, or wealth, but yeah. Maybe something even rarer. Some myths do have your father able to have some power over fire, but it probably wouldn't be…" he faded off, realizing he'd been ranting. A trait he'd picked up from his wife.

"Um… sorry. My point is that you probably have an idea what your power is. Figure it out. Use it. Again, you're more powerful than you realize."

She looked away for a moment. "I… feel the shadows. And darkness," she said softly. "Nico can sense shadows of people and how people work, but all shadows… that's what I sense. All the time. The darkness…" She swallowed. "It always calls to me."

Percy blinked. Oh. Well… he hadn't been expecting that. Sure, Nico could shadow travel, but his domain had mostly been with the dead. He didn't doubt Bianca had some of that too, but…

"Shadows it is then. Though you may have more of your father's domains also."

The daughter of Hades shook her head. "It scares me," she said, shrinking in on herself. "I… feel like if I touch them, then I'll get lost."

Percy could understand that. But still… "I heard of a son of Hades who could shadow travel—travel through the shadows to more or less teleport. He was not from China. He ended up in China a lot. It took him a while to get used to his powers. You'll never get used to them if you don't try, though. We're all afraid, Bianca. It's understandable you are too. It's just up to you as to how far you'll let that hold you back."

She didn't answer for several seconds. Finally, she just whispered, "I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," Percy said, sensing he really shouldn't push. "Anyway, I think I see our next obstacle," he said, eyeing the speck on the horizon that had just come into view. "Good luck. I'll call you again when I can."

"Focus on your own quest," Clarisse muttered.

Percy snorted. "Sorry to wake you all up. Go back to sleep."

"Easy for you to say," Grover grumbled. Percy laughed that time.

"May the gods look kindly upon you," he said.

"Um… you too?"

He just smiled wider. "Goodbye." He dragged a hand through the mist, dissipating it and leaving him looking out at the sapphire and silver waves before him. He once again searched the horizon, and found the highest peak of Circe's island. After a moment making sure they'd come to the right place, Percy let out a breath, nodded, and went to wake up Annabeth so they could discuss everything with Luke.

xXx

Annabeth stared at Percy (this time traveling future god who is now a demigod and… this was just so screwed up) and couldn't quite bring herself to look away. Was he serious?

"You want me… to say I'm here on my own, go with them, and more or less do whatever they say?"

"They don't exactly treat men well," Percy said, a little sheepishly. Which just seemed so… surreal to her. Everything about this boy seemed surreal. "Or boys," he gestured to himself.

She really didn't know how to classify this 'boy'. She knew Greek gods weren't great. She'd read the myths, and had always been grateful she was a daughter of Athena, a virgin goddess who focused on wisdom and strategy. She was proud of where she came from god-wise. And she understood why her mother took issue with most of the gods she took issue with. And, consequently, their children. So when she'd figured out Percy was a son of Poseidon… she expected him to be arrogant and cruel, just putting on a nice face in front of everyone. But… he wasn't. She'd seen him as powerful and maybe a little arrogant, but he also came across as one of the most genuine people she'd ever met, despite playing a prank on the entire camp.

Then Luke had told her not to trust him—about how he'd sounded when they'd gone out of camp after the girl he'd dreamed about—and she'd felt like everything she'd ever thought badly about him had been confirmed, so she'd avoided him while still trying to figure him out. And yet, when she'd confronted him, he'd almost seemed… scared of her. Which madenosense. He could supposedly summon storms and used to be a god, and yet he shied back from and wanted to placateher.

He'd given her hints when she pressed, but also let her figure things out, seemed amused with her more often than not, and he hadn't lied to her. Not as far as she knew. Inevitably, he'd drawn her back in… and had apparently done the same to Luke.

But then she'd read the sci-fi books, and all sorts of different theories had come up. Cloning, taking over a body, some sort of avatar… However, time-travel, while bringing up more questions than she thought possible, made the most sense.

He'd just confirmed that he'd lived this life before and… she was still processing all of the implications of that. Unusual for her, but they were just so far reaching. What had happened in his first life (in and above what he'd told them)? What were his true intentions? What were his motivations? She couldguess,but didn'tknow… and that irked her. A lot.

Now he wanted to sneak onto an island controlled by a sorceress who didn't like men andshewas supposed to be the distraction? Had this been his goal all along? To get her out of the way?

She considered that for a moment before dismissing the thought entirely. If he wanted her out of the way, he'd already had several points where he easily could have set something up. Although, if he had future knowledge… had she been an enemy before? She didn't think so, with how fondly he looked at her sometimes. So what had she been to him?

It was right on the tip of her tongue, but something seemed to be blocking her from figuring it out, which just irked her more.

"You want her to do that," Luke said, bringing Annabeth back to the present (not that she'd ever let her guard down, but she mentally smacked herself for letting her ADHD get the better of her), "while you sneak onto the island and look for these demigods you think will be so important in the future?"

Percy nodded again. Which both was and wasn't like the gods. He wanted her to put herself in danger, but was willing to pull his own weight too, sneaking onto an island (gods didn'tsneak) and putting himself in danger.

"What exactly do you wantmeto do then?" Luke asked, sounding annoyed. "Hide on the boat?"

"Initially," Percy said. "But after that, maybe sneak off and try to steal us a better boat? Remember I can control them to an extent, but the more you two can do with our new ride, the better."

They both stared at him.

"I know nothing about boats!" Luke said.

"But you do know a lot about stealing. Do you really thinkyoucouldn't steal a boat?"

Annabeth watched her pseudo brother deftly as he opened his mouth, face red, then paused and backed down, frowning. Which didn't happen often with him. Luke was one of the most confident, charismatic people she knew.

Would anything involving Percy Jackson ever not be surreal? Or was that just how it was to be around a god, even one who had become mortal.

"Yeah, I can do it," Luke muttered.

"Great!" Percy grinned and how could someone grin so earnestly and yet still look like a troublemaker? It did things to her stomach she didnotwant to acknowledge. "I'll help you put the barrels back together and we can drag them behind the ship on a line. That should make it easier to take them to whatever ship you decide to steal."

Luke seemed troubled, and a little annoyed, but Annabeth had known him since she was seven and he was fourteen. He was excited about this—liked the idea of a challenge. He wouldn't have backed down otherwise.

"Great. Now," Percy took some bags he'd prepared a bit earlier and held them up. "These have Hermes' vitamins in them. They're pretty strong, so only use them if you really need to stop yourself from being subject to magic."

"Like Odysseus?" Annabeth asked. "Except his were herbs."

Percy nodded. "Exactly like that, I think." He distributed them, smiling after he pocketed the rest of the bottle. "I also think we should leave all of our supplies with Luke. They'll probably be the safest here."

Luke nodded. "I'll take care of them."

"Great! Let's go, then!" Percy said, stepping carefully across some particularly weak-looking planks before striding happily to the stairwell and down below. "I can make a bubble under water for the supplies," Percy said. "And I can probably keep it up even when I'm on the island, but it'll drain me."

"Of course you can," Luke muttered.

Percy shrugged. "It's that or a raft that would be too obvious."

"It's a good idea, Luke," Annabeth said quietly.

The older boy sighed and waved a hand back and forth. "Fine, fine. Let's just get this all out of here."

They spent the next minutes preparing and securing the supplies they'd brought. None of them seemed to want to talk anymore, so they all heard the snore.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Annabeth asked suddenly.

Luke and Percy exchanged glances and nodded. Annabeth didn't seem to notice. She frowned. "I thought someone snorted."

"It is dusty here," Luke pointed out, though he didn't sound too sure of himself.

She didn't look like that answered anything, but otherwise nodded and they kept preparing to pack up the food when Percy heard it again.

"Wait," he said. The other two froze. "There. I was right, it's a… snore?"

The three of them glanced between each other and then the small stack of sacks and boxes they'd brought and even opened. Almost as one, the three of them began moving things around. After a few seconds, they reached the bottom most sack—one they hadn't brought on from camp. It had obviously been on the boat by the smell and dilapidated state.

There were definitely snores coming from said sack. Percy saw Annabeth take her dagger out and he took Riptide out himself. Luke quietly drew his own sword and they approached the bag slowly, carefully untying the top and pulling it down to reveal a head of brown curls and a scraggly beard, barely visible in the dark, but unmistakable.

All three of them backed off in surprise.

"Grover?" Percy asked.