Learning Humanity: The Lightning Thief

by LONGPercabethLIVE

The year is 1990, and Clotho, the Fate of Birth, and Lechesis, the Fate of Life, foretell a terrible future for the next generation of heroes. The three Fates decide that in order to prevent wars and death, they must teach the Gods humility and humanity. And what better way is there than forcing them to see life through the eyes of a twelve-year-old demigod?

Disclaimer: I sooooo do not own the PJO and HOO series. Like, not even a little bit.

Timeline: In this story, the demigods are transported to the year 1990. The Last Olympian was released in 2009, taking place the summer that Percy turned sixteen. I'm using that as basis for making Percy's birth year be sixteen years before, and thus he and Annabeth were born in 1993. Because Thalia was five years older than Percy and Annabeth, I'm placing her birth year as 1988. Jason, Frank, Piper and Leo were all a year younger than Percy (or at least I THINK Frank was younger, but I might be wrong about that one…) so I've placed their birth year in 1994. And Clarisse was two years older, making her 1991. So obviously most of the demigods haven't even been born yet, which I thought would be fun to play with! Personally I didn't feel it was as important to figure out Hazel and Nico's birth dates- everyone knows they've already been born anyway! Anyway, the demigods are from 2010, at the beginning of 'Son of Neptune', right after Mars claims Frank.

Demigods that go back in time

Percy Jackson- son of Poseidon

Thalia Grace- daughter of Zeus

Nico di Angelo- son of Hades

Annabeth Chase- daughter of Athena

Jason Grace- son of Jupiter

Clarisse La Rue- daughter of Ares

Hazel Levesque- daughter of Pluto

Frank Zhang- son of Mars

Piper McLean- daughter of Aphrodite

Leo Valdez- son of Hephaestus

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1990

Zeus stood on a lavish balcony atop Mt. Olympus, the splendor of his Godly home sparkling grandly around him. The lightning that occasionally seemed to flicker through his marbled beard flashed excitedly, responding to the thunder that he was subjecting the citizens of New York City to. His gray eyes watched his storm cloud creation with satisfaction. Often when he was angered, which was nowhere near as often as Poseidon liked to make out, he accidentally created thunderstorms, the sky reflecting his turbulent emotions. But this, this was deliberate, and carefully crafted, and beautiful.

"Well," said a voice older than time. It creaked and stretched oddly over the syllables of the word, and it made the hairs on Zeus' neck stand. Even if he hadn't known that accursed voice, he'd still know who was behind him. There were very few who could sneak up on him. In fact, there were only three. "You certainly think highly of yourself, don't you?" the voice continued. He'd always found it eerie, how they almost seemed to know his thoughts.

He turned, facing the Fates. The one who had spoken, Atropos, the Fate of Death, stared him straight on. She swung those ancient scissors by her side, the ones that had cut the life-string of many a mortal, and Zeus felt an odd shiver run through him. He was a God, and he knew he was immortal, yet somehow Atropos' presence always made him feel as though he were beginning to Fade.

He liked Atropos the least.

"I have a right to," he said finally, in response to her saying he thought highly of himself.

Atropos' sister, Lachesis, the Fate of Life, hissed loudly. "Such arrogance!" she exclaimed to her sisters. Zeus was never quite sure how, but Lachesis always managed to speak with a voice that was full, a voice that reminded him of spring, and flowers in bloom. "Do you see?" she continued to the other two Fates, ignoring Zeus completely. "Such arrogance will be the death of those they love on Earth, and the downfall of the Gods. I have seen it!"

The third sister, Clotho, the Fate of Birth, sent a sharp glance to Lachesis. "The only reason you even thought to look in the first place," she said, her voice somehow both shrill and barely above a whisper, "is because I foretold the births of said loved ones!"

Atropos rolled her eyes, sneering at her sisters. "Shut up," she croaked in that twisted, unnatural voice. "We are not here to squabble. We are here to give Lord Zeus a warning," and when she turned to him with a smile, it was razor sharp.

Atropos was the Fate most capable of reminding him of the fact that he may be King of the Gods, but he was still subject to the hands of the Fates, and he despised them for holding such power over him. It was all there in the mocking way she called him 'Lord'. Outside, the thunderstorm began to spiral out of his control.

"And what warning might that be?" he ground out.

"Merely that if the Gods do not learn some humility and gain some humanity that your arrogance and stubbornness may well cause a war, and the demigods that you Gods so adore will face the worst of it," Lechesis said cheerily, as though she wasn't delivering disturbing news.

Zeus scoffed. "Humanity? We have no need for humanity. We are Gods."

"Yes," Clotho said lazily, paying more attention to the fibers of a life-string than she did to Zeus. He wondered who's it was, and what she saw. "And it is precisely that attitude that gets your precious daughter killed. Thalia, I believe?"

The golden ichor flowing through his ancient being seemed to freeze over in horror. Thalia, his two-year-old demigod child. He'd managed thus far to keep her existence a secret from the other Gods, after all, she was a violation of a very sacred oath. Being half-mortal, he of course knew that she was going to die one day, but the passing of his children always brought him grief, despite the fact that being immortal himself, he felt disconnected from the concept of 'death'. And to be told that her death would be his fault? That he could prevent it if the Gods learned… humanity?

Zeus was highly unaccustomed to the feeling of uncertainty. He pushed through it. For Thalia.

"What do you propose that I do with this… warning?" he asked wearily.

Atrophos smiled, her lips curling oddly around needle-sharp teeth. "My sisters have foretold a new generation of heroes, unlike any generation before. We propose pulling ten chosen demigods through time, to read with you the Myth of Percy Jackson."

Zeus' eyes widened. Even he had not realized the Fates had such power. As far as he knew, his wretched father Kronos was the only being capable of manipulating time.

"Gather the Olympian Gods," Lachesis spoke, finally looking away from the life-string, and Zeus suddenly knew that that string was Thalia's. He did not know how he knew, but he knew. It strengthened his resolve. Atrophos would not be cutting that string any time soon. "And we do mean all of the Olympian Gods."

"But Hades… he is not welcome at any time other than the winter solstice."

"I'm sorry," Clotho spoke, "I was under the impression that Gods cared about their demigod children, despite their deplorable brand of parenting."

Zeus scowled, an ugly thunderstorm of frustration crossing his handsome features. "Fine. What then?"

"Just gather the Gods," Atrophos said. "We'll take care of the rest."

And then they were gone in a swirling mist of smoke.

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"Well, I don't suppose there's any avoiding it," Clotho spoke from the Fates' lair, an ancient structure that almost could be mistaken for the inside of a cave, were it not for the immense power emanating from the walls.

Lechesis shook her head 'no'.

"It's going to be pandemonium. And we'll have to explain everything again."

Atrophos snipped a life-string, an utterly bored expression on her face, even as another soul made its' way to DOA Recording Studios. "I can't say we actually explained much to Zeus in the first place."

Clotho sighed in acknowledgement, and Lechesis snapped her fingers. A vortex of smoke transported ten very confused demigods to the ancient building.

It was, as Clotho had said, pandemonium. Thalia Grace looked around and saw her brother Jason holding hands with Aphrodite's child, Piper McLean.

"Jason?" she asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I… really don't know." Both he and Piper looked just as confused as Thalia.

"Oh, man!" Leo complained. "Why does all the weird stuff happen to us?"

"Wait, Jason?" Hazel asked, stepping forward. "Jason, where have you been? We looked everywhere for you! Reyna's been having a lot of trouble with Octavian, you've got to come back!"

Jason just looked confused. "I'm sorry, I… I think I remember you, but I'm not sure… who's Octavian again?"

"Wait, you don't remember us?" Frank asked from next to Hazel.

Percy Jackson snorted. "Man, do I know that feeling. I guess you're the Jason Grace everyone keeps talking about?"

Almost in unison, everyone from Camp Half-Blood turned to look at their lost hero.

"Oh my Gods, Percy!" Annabeth took a flying leap at her missing boyfriend and kissed him for all she was worth. When she pulled away she was crying.

"I looked everywhere for you…"

"Annabeth…" he whispered, looking at her in awe. She was the only thing he remembered, and yet, he was still surprised by the feeling of completion, the feeling of being home in her arms.

"Annabeth, I remember you," he said, and she gave a watery laugh.

"Well that's a relief. After realizing you and Jason had been switched I was afraid that you'd have forgotten about me and got a new girlfriend."

Percy smiled softly at her, playing gently with a curl. "I could never forget about you." He then looked at everyone else. "But uh… sorry guys, I can't say I know who you are…"

"We can fix that," Lechesis said, instantly putting the demigods on alert as they finally noticed the three Fates.

"Who are you?" Clarisse demanded, brandishing her spear.

Atrophos smiled humorlessly. "I am Atrophos, and these are my sisters, Clotho and Lechesis."

"The Fates," Annabeth said, fear in her voice as she clutched Percy closer to her.

"We can give Percy Jackson and Jason Grace their memories back temporarily, for the purposes of our warning to the Gods."

Frank Zhang furrowed his brow. "Your warning to the Gods?" he asked wearily.

"Yes. You ten demigods have been pulled back twenty years in time, from the year 2010 to our current year, 1990. You are here to read first about the adventures of Percy Jackson, and then to read about a group of heroes that we will only identify as 'the Heroes of Olympus'. Reading these books, or 'myths', will teach the Gods humility, humanity… the art of loving another selflessly, the feelings that go behind a sacrifice. The meaning of bravery."

"That… that sounds like it could be a good idea…" Annabeth said, sounding uncertain.

"Yes, we thought so too," Lechesis said, before snapping her fingers twice in quick succession. Immediately, a flood of memories hit Percy and Jason.

Atrophos looked directly at Nico di Angelo then. "You, boy. I suggest you explain to them why you know who all of them are."

Nico nodded, looking slightly sick. "I know these guys," he said, jerking his thumb at all of the Greeks, "because I'm the son of Hades. And I know these guys," this time pointing at the Romans, "because I'm the Ambassador of Pluto."

"The Ambassador of who now?" Percy asked, at the same time that Hazel said, "But Nico, our father is Pluto."

"No," Nico said, looking at Hazel nervously. "Your father is Pluto. My father is his Greek form, Hades. I… you're still my sister, just… it's like our father is a coin, you know? Pluto is one side of the coin, and Hades is the other, but it's all the same coin."

"Wait," Frank said. "You mean the Greek Gods still exist?" Nico, along with the Half-Blood campers who'd already known this all nodded. Percy looked pretty incredulous as well.

"Okay, so… we've come back in time… to read?" Percy clarified, looking so displeased that Annabeth actually laughed.

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All fourteen Olympian Gods sat in the throne room of Mt. Olympus, contemplating the words of the Fates, spoken through their King.

"Let me get this straight," Ares spoke. "If we don't learn humility and… humanity, then we'll cause wars and our children will die?"

"If you weren't running around siring demigod children in the first place," Hera spoke icily "then perhaps we would not be having this issue." She eyed her husband coldly. This did not seem like an issue he would normally care about. He was the King of the Gods, and the deaths of a few insignificant demigods should not trouble him so. She had her suspicions about why he cared.

Poseidon was apparently thinking along the same lines. He narrowed sea-green eyes and leaned forward on his throne, eyeing his brother. "You, Brother," he began, "would not have happened to have sired a demigod yourself, would you?" he asked, his voice as cold as the depths of the Atlantic ocean. "After all," he continued, "that would be in direct violation of the oath."

Hades also turned to glare at his youngest brother, but before anything could be said, that same mist of smoke appeared, only larger, and with the three Fates were ten teenagers. The Gods immediately sat up straighter, looking them over with curiosity. It was not often that they met time travelers.

The children appeared to be arguing among themselves, passing a box to and fro, whispers of "no you give it to him" echoing.

Finally a girl with dark hair and skin that glowed like moonlight was shoved to the front of the group, box in her hands and a silver circlet atop her head. "He won't zap you," whispered a boy white as bone.

The girl walked forward, and her blue-gray eyes were electric as she handed Zeus the box. He took it and opened it with a raised eyebrow. Inside were a series of books, all titled 'Percy Jackson'.

He looked back to the girl with a raised eyebrow.

"Introduce yourself, child," he commanded, though he had the feeling that he already knew exactly who this was.

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

The Olympians tensed. Hera looked at the girl with absolute hatred.

"Well," announced Hades, looking at Poseidon. "I can't say I'm surprised." Poseidon just shook his head.

"Uh, yeah, before you go getting all upset about Thalia, I'm her brother, Jason Grace, son of Jupiter."

"Now look what you've done, Father!" snapped Athena. "Not only have you broken the oath twice, but you've also made it so the Greeks and the Romans know about each other!"

"I take full responsibility for Thalia," Zeus said to his daughter, "but Jason hasn't even been born yet!"

Poseidon and Hades glowered at the illegal children before them. "It would appear that our brother simply does not know the meaning of an oath," Poseidon said icily to Hades, who nodded in agreement.

And that's when Thalia snapped. She snorted, rolling her eyes. "Oh Lord Poseidon, I wouldn't go getting up on my high horse if I were you."

The Sea God stood from his throne, gripping his trident in a white-knuckled grip. "Excuse me?" he asked dangerously.

A boy with black hair and sea green eyes stepped out from the safety of the group. "She's talking about me. I'm Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. The uh… well, I guess the books are kinda mine…"

A ripple of gasps went around the throne room. Zeus turned to Poseidon with a smug look. In shock, Poseidon fell back into his throne with a 'thump', staring at the miniature of himself. There was no denying it, he knew. The boy looked almost exactly like him.

"It appears you do not know the meaning of an oath either, Brother," Zeus mocked.

Aphrodite smirked from her throne. "Who would've thought that Hades would be the only one with no children?"

"Well that's because I can actually keep my word-"

But Athena had spotted two children shifting uncomfortably in the back of the group, the white-as-bone boy and a very pretty African-American girl beside him.

"Oh, don't tell me…" Athena groaned in their direction. As if the time traveling wasn't dramatic enough, they now had five children of the Big Three in the same room, after their being a sacred oath taken on the River Styx for no more such children to be born!

The rest of the Gods turned towards the two as well, disbelief on their faces.

"Uh, I'm Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto."

As the Gods erupted in outrage at their leaders' complete lack of ability to keep a promise, Hades stared at his children as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Hazel…" he croaked, and the other Gods stopped to look. "How…? You're dead! I couldn't save you."

She smiled at the Greek form of her father. "It's okay, Dad. It'll get explained in the book. It's fine, I promise."

"I tried, you know. I tried to save you-"

"I know you did. I heard you and Mom talking."

The other Gods watched the exchange with curiosity. "So I'm guessing that Hazel's presence is not a violation of the oath?" Athena asked.

Hades shook his head no. "Hazel was born and had died before the oath was ever taken."

"And the boy?"

"Uh, yeah, the boy is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades," Nico filled in.

Zeus snarled, turning to Hades. "I told you to kill them!"

Hades scoffed coldly. "You could not have honestly expected me to kill my own children."

The Gods gasped again. "Zeus!" Demeter gasped in horror. Even Hera looked at him in disgust. The demigods may be a violation of marriage vows, but to expect a father to kill his own child was in direct violation of her beliefs as the Goddess of Family.

Hades turned to his son. "Where is your sister? I don't see her here."

"Dear Us!" Apollo burst out, "There's another one?"

Nico cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yeah, Bianca's uh… Bianca's a little busy."

By this point Hera was rubbing her temples tiredly. "Are there any more surprises we should know about?" she asked. The demigods all shook their heads 'no'.

"Good," Zeus sighed in relief. "Now, introduce yourselves."

One by one, the demigods introduced themselves as Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, Frank Zhang, son of Mars, Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite and Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus.

Upon the introduction of each demigod, their Godly parent would look at their child, the child that had not yet been born or even conceived, with undeniable curiosity.

Zeus looked around for the Fates, wanting to ask which book came first, but they had disappeared at some point during the discussion. Well good riddance. He looked down at the box of books in his lap.

"Which book comes first?" he asked, even as Athena snapped and created sofas and armchairs for the demigods to sit on. "The Lightning Thief," Annabeth answered.

Zeus looked up furiously. "You mean to tell me that somebody stole my lightning bolt!?"

Annabeth grimaced. "At this point, Lord Zeus, I think it's best if we just read."

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Review please, and let me know what you think!