Dislaimer: I don't own anything

Before he woke up in a strange place, Percy had been having a great evening at Camp Half-Blood. Dinner had been delicious, as always. The sing-a-long was fun, and the campfire had been bright yellow and at least fifteen feet high. Everyone was cheery, and he and Annabeth had seen each other for the first time in several weeks. They'd been going to have a wonderful break. He'd given Annabeth a kiss goodnight, and headed to his cabin. The last thought he'd had was 'I can't wait for tomorrow!'

But this wasn't what he'd envisioned as 'tomorrow'. He was situated in a smallish bed with white framing and blue sheets, in a huge white room with a domed ceiling. There were windows every ten feet across the walls. Twelve statues were strategically placed on the floor- one of each Olympian god or goddess.

Percy thought that, while you could tell who was who, there were a lot of differences between the looks of the statues, and the looks of the actual gods.

For one thing, Zeus didn't have a floor length beard, at least, not in this time. For a moment, Percy wondered if the statues portrayed the Olympians in a younger age. He questioned if Hera had really worn dreadlocks. They didn't really seem her style. But who knew? Maybe in the olden days, dreadlocks had been the errant queen's favorite look.

As he continued to observe the room, he noticed a couple of small trees spread around the room. They were maybe six feet tall, with thin trunks and bushy leaves. There were small budding flowers spread throughout the branches. Percy took some comfort in them. They somehow reminded him of home, and of Camp.

Where was he? How did he get here? And more importantly, how was he going to get out? There wasn't a door, and he was getting a really bad vibe from the windows. Something told him that trying to get out through them would result in really, really bad consequences.

"You're quite right. Attempting to get out of this room through those windows would be disastrous. I won't tell you why, though. It might upset your stomach."

Percy leaped out of the bed and turned to face the visitor. "Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize me, Percy Jackson? Is it not obvious?"

He instantly realized who it was. How could anyone forget her? "Queen Hera."

"Yes… Although, you will soon come to think of my name as being something different… Not permanently, of course, but still…"

"Why am I here?" Percy asked.

"Right to the point, aren't you? It's actually quite rude at times, didn't you know?" At that moment, Percy didn't care if he was being rude. He'd woken up in a weird room after falling asleep in his cabin at Camp, with no idea what was going on.

Of course, since he was talking to Hera, Percy probably wouldn't have cared if he'd been rude in the middle of a perfect day at Camp. "Why am I here?" he repeated.

"Tut, tut. No manners. Oh well. I suppose I can't blame you. So let's see… Yes. You have been brought here because you need to be kept safe- away from the forces that are beginning to awake."

"Kept… safe?"

"Yes. You need to be tucked away where the forces that will seek you will not be able to get to you."

"What 'forces'?"

"A goddess more powerful than you could imagine and her followers." Hera responded.

"Do I want to know who this goddess is?"

"Probably. But telling you now would only take up time. Anyway, I expect that you will figure it out soon enough."

"What makes you think that?"

"Percy, it really isn't that hard to figure out who it is. She does rather love to embellish herself. Quite annoying sometimes- always some form of dramatics as she attempts to bring about the destruction of the world.

"Whoa whoa, hold on a sec. What do you mean, 'the destruction of the world'?"

"World domination. The end of the era of the gods."

"This again?" It seemed to Percy that this was a rather repetitive part of the world.

"Perseus, this is no laughing matter. This goddess… She is greater than Kronos. Greater than all of the gods, and the titans…"

"If she's so powerful, why hasn't she already taken over already?"

"Because, miraculously, we were able to put her to sleep. She has not awakened for millennia. But now she is beginning to. And if she fully wakes… It would be a complete disaster. Even now, while she still slumbers, she has her influences on the world."

"What influences?

"Earthquakes and the like. She occasionally goes after people's minds, and interferes with major decisions. You'd find that many disastrous events actually started with one of her seeds in someone's mind.

"So, just who are we talking about here?"

Hera didn't seem to want to talk about that. "That's not the subject of point right now. I've let us get off topic. So back to where the subject involves you." She paused, as if thinking everything through one last, quick time.

By now, Percy was getting impatient. Hera could at least get to the point of all of this instead of drawing things out while she claimed that there was no time to waste on discussing what was going on. "So are you going to tell me?"

"Patience, young hero. Of course I am. I was just thinking things over. Nothing like this has been attempted in quite some time. Percy Jackson, I am going to send you to another universe."

Percy was stunned. Another universe? Was the queen of the gods absolutely nuts? What other universe was there? And how exactly was he supposed to get there? He didn't voice those though. Too risky- he may not like Hera, but that didn't mean that she couldn't blow him to smithereens if she wanted to. He didn't want to sound that hugely disrespectful right to her face. Instead he said "Uh… Another universe?"

"Indeed. You see, if you are in another universe, this world's happenings cannot affect you there. And if you are going to be there as long as you are, it makes sense for you to be able to improve your powers. Grow stronger. And you can't die in a universe that is not your own. After all, you weren't technically even born there, and if you didn't exist, then you can't die. It's quite brilliant." Hera beamed, the earlier discussion forgotten for the moment.

"Um… Okay… Why would I be dying?"

Hera looked off for a moment. "Oh, you'll find out when you get there. You'll have plenty of time to figure it all out. After all, you'll be a resident for about 6 months."

"6 months!" Percy was furious. He didn't want to be away for 6 months, especially in another universe. His life was finally looking good. He was dating Annabeth. No powerful beings other than monsters and a few select gods were trying to kill him. And so far, he hadn't been kicked out of school, which was almost a brand new experience for him.

"Yes. I believe 6 months will allow for the proper events to take place. It's all part of my plan. The seven heroes of the great prophecy will be united."

"So the second great prophecy has started? So soon?" All other thoughts temporarily left Percy's mind. Really? He'd just finished off the first great prophecy a couple months ago, and now he was being told that the second was already happening? Unbelievable. Or rather, very believable, considering his luck.

"Yes. It is. And you are among them."

"Great."

"Hmm… But let's get on with it, shall we? We need to get you sent on your way, don't we? There isn't much time to waste if the world is to be saved."

"Wait. Who said I would go?"

"I believe I did, Percy. And I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in the matter. Much as I would like for you to cooperate, I don't need you to."

"Fine, then. Can't I at least say good bye to everyone?" Percy was desperate now.

"No. My plan partially depends on the reactions to your sudden disappearance from your cabin. Anyway, if you would please go pick one of the buds, we could get started." She pointed to one of the trees. Percy went over and picked one, then brought it back. Hera sniffed it, daintily. "Ah yes. This one will work splendidly. If you could just stand over there by your bed? Yes, perfect. Now, please eat this bud."

"Eat it? Why?" Percy had resigned himself to his fate for now, but that didn't mean he was going to let it happen so quickly. Who knew? Maybe someone would miraculously show up and get him out of this whole mess.

"Because I said so, that's why."

"That's not an answer."

"It's beside the point. Percy, you will be eating this bud, like it or not, and you're going to do it now."

"Says who?" he retorted.

"Says me." Hera's eyes were gaining a dangerous glow now. It would really be in his best interests if he complied. At least he'd tried.

Percy took the bud, stuffed it in his mouth, chewed for a moment, and then swallowed it. Immediately, he felt drowsy. He dreamed he was watching the scene from above. His body collapsed onto the bed as Hera murmured an incantation over him. As he drifted off, he kept thinking, it must be a dream. Gonna have to tell Annabeth and Chiron as soon as I wake up. Figure out what it means. Tell Annabeth… He didn't get any further in his thoughts, as his consciousness disappeared, and he felt himself floating away, like waves were drifting him out to sea.

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