Hey there, I sort of abandoned my original attempt of this story after seven chapter but recently revisited it and reminded myself of why I liked the idea so much. I hope you enjoy it as well. This story will feature familiar characters but with slightly different roles and motivations though I won't reveal anymore now.
Heroes of Olympus is disregarded for this and set after Last Olympian. This is basically just the prologue.
Eris, Greek goddess of Discord, crept through the quiet camp with a maniacal grin on her young-looking face. Though she was immortal, in her preferred form she appeared as a little girl because one wouldn't suspect such an innocent figure to be withholding a soul that thrived on chaos and strife. Camp Half-blood was almost empty in the early hours of the morning, allowing her to move through undetected. Ironically, (in her mind), her reason for coming was to shatter the calm and quiet atmosphere. The camp had been too boring lately and it was her job to make it more interesting!
Percy Jackson, meanwhile, was sitting alone on the beach at the edge of the camp, watching the ocean; it seemed his recent heroics enabled him to stay out as late as he wished. He was her target, though he didn't know it. His existence had been previously dangerous and exciting due to that old prophecy but since he'd succeeded in saving Olympus from the Titan invasion, he hadn't risked his life once! He hadn't done anything particularly dangerous in weeks nor did he appear to be planning anything either; Eris would've noticed. It was frustratingly boring for the girl who lived for thrills.
She approached at the edge of the beach, watching him from afar. He hadn't noticed her yet, given that he was staring blankly out at the sea - practically inviting her to sneak up on him. His inattention was convenient for her plan, (though part of her also wanted him to be more alert as it would have been exciting to try a bit of deception too).
She couldn't resist a large grin as she went through the devious plan in her mind, eager to begin. She hadn't attempted anything of this magnitude since she'd 'accidentally' left an important door in Olympus wide open, inviting a certain son of Hermes to steal a certain Master bolt. Like most of her plans, this one was delightfully simple, (though power-consuming). There was nothing quite like destroying order with the lightest of touches, the very smallest changes to an otherwise perfect reality. All she had to do was push him on the back. A violent shove into another dimension where she would watch what erupted as he was thrown into an alien situation.
Percy Jackson was undoubtedly a very dangerous, daring hero. He'd challenged gods and titans to battle and had lived to tell the tale. He'd willingly taken on the curse of Achilles just for more power. Eris had, of course, selected him quite deliberately. Whatever he did in a new dimension, he'd surely be entertaining and that was what was most important. Sure, she could pick some new up-and-coming hero but there was always a chance that they'd be dull.
And the best part was that even she wouldn't know what sort of dimension he'd end up in, for there was myriad kinds. The anticipation of the unknown was enticing. And all it would require from her was just one little push. Then she'd follow him like a ghost, watching the new scenario evolve. Maybe the alternate Percy from the new dimension could be pulled into this world too, for twice the chaos? That'd be perfect. The possibilities of that scenario were endless.
So Eris approached Percy Jackson, the recent hero of Olympus, carefully. The cool sand meant that her light footsteps scarcely made a sound and she fearlessly walked barefoot over to him, stopping mere inches away from him. She raised her hands, which were already twitching with chaotic magic. Only then did he appear to realise that she was behind him; maybe he'd sensed the magic somehow? He shuddered, instinctively turning around but it was too late for him to prevent what was about to occur.
She quickly placed her small hands on his back, fingers digging into his skin. Without wasting time for him to put up a struggle, she summoned her powers of discord. His eyes found hers, startled and confused; she gazed back evenly. And, taking a deep breath, she pushed him forcefully forward as a tear in the very fabric that made up their dimension appeared before them.
Two bodies fell through the rift.
Percy choked down a scream at the menacing dark light(?) that he was being thrown into; sucking him in as if it were ravenously hungry. Who was she? What was this? Where did the peaceful beach go? Questions churned through his mind but no answers.
All he could was observe as it pulled him down, for he could see nothing, and only feel the far too rapid motion. His brain (Annabeth had always said it was full of Kelp), it seemed to be feeling things all wrongly - why else wouldn't he be able feel his arms and legs? He remembered the little girl,who had been clinging to his shoulders - was she still there? Had he imagined her (for he'd seen her for only the briefest instant)?
The world stilled, movement halting like gravity had simply stopped pulling, though he saw nothing. Was he floating? The journey had been very short, and far too fast. Or was his sense of time also being distorted? His mind was definitely confused, after all.
The entire ordeal up to that point had been very disorientating but none of it compared to simply blinking and finding that he was in a new place. The emptiness was gone yet the vast dark ocean was still nowhere to be seen. Percy found himself in a dimly-lit room, illuminated by a desk lamp. His clothes too, appeared to be changed, a thick dark green jacket in contrast to the ragged orange t-shirt he'd previously had on. How was this happening? His mind was basically a cloud of confusion, which took time to sort out.
The most immediate thing he noticed was the girl still hanging onto his shoulder somehow, for he could feel her substantial weight once more. He knew she had to have something to do with this. Turning around, he grabbed her fiercely, easily pulling the small girl off himself and onto the wooden floor in front of him; she only giggled. She barely came up to his shoulders but she was wearing a large grin and her dark eyes were glinting mischievously.
Now Percy happened to have a fair amount of experience dealing with immortal beings disguised to look innocent (Percy arbitrarily decided that she just barely qualified on looking innocent), and judging on how she didn't appear at all afraid or even a little surprised by the darkness or the new location, he concluded that she was somehow the cause of all this. There was also the fact that she'd appeared out of nowhere. At the very least she had to know what was going on. Maybe she'd created an elaborate illusion?
"Where am I? And who are you?" He demanded desperately but firmly.
She slid out of his admittedly loose grip cheerfully. "Somewhere exciting, I hope!"
It wasn't the sort of response he'd been expected, but it did kind of fit a little kid. He considered grabbing her again as she gazed around the room eagerly. He sighed, trying to adjust to his surroundings. He really didn't want to deal with any of this yet; surely the world could wait a minute before he had to act.
"I'm going to look around but I will come back - don't worry!" She said in an oddly relaxed yet enthusiastic voice, opening the only door in this plain-looking room. He could see her frown slightly when it only lead to an equally bland hallway. "You can call me Eris though," she added in an afterthought before darting down the hallway.
"Good luck then, Eris." Percy replied uncertainly, not sure if she heard or not.
He couldn't help but calm down simply at her infectiously happy attitude. None of her actions indicated that there was any immediate danger. She was just looking around. Even if this was some far too elaborate scheme to kill him, he was invulnerable, with his curse of Achilles. And even if she was the cause of this, at least she seemed to be happy. He liked it when little girls were happy. Maybe this could be the start of one of those fun not life-threatening adventures. They existed, right?
And why did the name Eris sound so familiar to him?
So this is the first chapter in an alternate universe fic featuring canon Percy. The idea is that Eris is just there for thrills and will follow around Percy, messing with the plot whenever it amuses her. She never appears in canon but she's the Greek goddess of Strife. Percy doesn't know it yet but in this world he's a bit of a villain - and so are some of his friends. Of course his ideals haven't changed yet.
Anyway I would appreciate some reviews! Some feedback, encouragement and criticism would be lovely but mostly, I hope you like this. The tone's meant to be light and fun but there will be some plot too.
