The Many Phases of Percy

Chapter 1- Age 1

The Beginning

Annabeth's POV

"When is Lady Hebe arriving?" I asked sighing as I looked out the window.

"Soon Annabeth, soon," Chiron replied.

I pouted silently as I thought about what I could be doing right now. I could be planning the schematics for the new Olympus. I could be outside having fun now that the war is finally over. And I could be sitting on the beach with my boyfriend, yes boyfriend, Percy. Yeah, I know what you're thinking… 'Gasp! You, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, are dating Seaweed Brain!? Well yeah. I am. Because… he may be a Seaweed Brain… but he's my Seaweed Brain. Of course he did leave me here to wait for Hebe. Alone. By myself. Without any company. Oh well, I'll get him back for it later.

"Lady Hebe, how are you?" Chiron greeted, stepping back as a young girl, around my age, stepped into the room.

I gasped, before I could catch myself. "I-I'm sorry!"

Lady Hebe immediately smiled and strode over towards me. "It is alright Annabeth. I appear as I choose, as the Goddess of Youth I enjoy experiencing the many stages of life."

"Oh."

Smooth Annabeth, smooth. I turned to Chiron who smiled reassuringly back at me before looking back to Hebe. I gasped again as the person who stood before me was now much older, at least 21.

Hebe laughed, the small bell-like sound filling the room as she held out her hand. Golden chests and silvery urns materialized beside me and I suppressed a groan, knowing I'd have to move all this stuff.

"Chiron, may I wander your ground for awhile before my return trip?" Hebe asked politely as she changed suddenly, to a woman of about 12.

"Of course Lady Hebe, take as long as you'd like," Chiron replied.

"Thank you, I haven't left Olympus in a long time, and watching those who truly enjoy their youth is something that I am quite fond of," Hebe explained, a kind of… dreamy look appearing on her face. "Please, take these as proof of my gratitude."

She held out her hand, a large plate of cookies appearing on her outstretched arm.

"Thank you Lady Hebe," Chiron said, bowing to her as he exited the room.

I turned back to Lady Hebe, but she had already left. I let out the groan I had suppressed earlier as I walked over to the pile of supplies.

"Hey Wise Girl, what's up?"

I turned and grinned as I noticed Percy standing at the doorway.

"Hey Seaweed Brain, you gonna help me or not?" I asked, my eyebrow raising as I walked over to him.

"Well… maybe I could, if you gave me some… incentive?" He retorted quickly, a small smirk gracing his lips as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I leaned up -cause yes, he's taller than me now- and pressed my lips against his, pulling back before he'd had the chance to respond.

He frowned. "That's it?"

I giggled as I pulled away slowly. "If you can help me move these supplies, maybe they'll be more."

"Your mean Wise Girl," Percy pouted as he pulled away and began carrying the crates to the basement.

I laughed, grabbed the first urn -I did not trust him with those- and headed down stairs. A few minutes later Percy had carried all of the chests down and even a few of the urns, miraculously with out dropping them.

He ran back up the stairs and reached for the last one, but I'd thought it best we didn't press out luck.

"I got this one," I said quickly, taking the urn from his hands.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, you go ahead and take a break," I replied, kissing him before heading back down the stairs. "I'll be right back."
He grinned, obviously remembering what I had promised, and headed into the kitchen.

"All done!" I exclaimed, walking back up the stairs and into the kitchen. "PERCY! W-what are you doing!? Those are from Hebe!"

Percy… the idiot that he was, was eating the cookies that Hebe had given to Chiron!

"Who?" Percy managed to say, which I was surprised by, seeing as how he had at least two cookies in his mouth.

"I am Hebe."

I spun around, my eyes wide as I stared at the little girl that stood in front of us.

"Oh, well these cookies are really good," Percy complimented, stuffing a few more in his mouth.

I shook my head to get over the shock and whacked Percy over his. "Seaweed Brain! Hebe is the Goddess of Youth! Lady Hebe, I apologize for my friend!"

"It is alright," Hebe replied as I sighed with relief. "He will get what he deserves."

Hebe disappeared as both our mouths dropped open with shock.

Percy gulped, though I'm not sure if out of fear or if he was just trying to swallow the cookies. "What do you think she meant?"

I turned around to face him and said, "I don't know, but this can't be…"

All of the sudden, Percy began to glow. Now let me tell you, when you've just been basically threatened by a god, glowing is not good. The glowing subsided, but when I turned to look at him… he was gone. I looked down at a pile of his clothes.

"OH MY GODS! PERCY!" I screamed, dropping to my knees.

HE'S GONE! Percy's gone! I-it's all my fault! I should have warned him! I could have said something! Oh Per- wait, are his clothes… crying? I picked up his shirt and tossed it aside, gasping at what I saw. Among the rest of Percy's clothes… was a baby. A green-eyed… black haired… baby. The baby cried, reaching up for me as I stared at it. P-percy… Percy's… a baby. Youth! Hebe was the Goddess of Youth! Of course he's a baby! I reached down and picked up Percy, who, thankfully was wearing a diaper, and held him close. He stopped crying and I stood up, walking outside, still in shock.

"Annabeth? Where… where did that baby come from?" Chiron asked suspiciously as I walked out onto the porch.

"It's Percy," I whispered, sitting down on the bench beside him.

"Percy!?" Chiron exclaimed, suddenly frantic. "What? How! Who? Hebe! Percy ate the cookies didn't he?"

"Yes."

Chiron still looked stunned, but a second later he shook his head and took a deep breath. "This has happened before."

"It has?" I asked, a little surprised.

I mean it's not everyday that you're turned into a baby for eating cookies! Or at least… it shouldn't be.

"Yes, don't worry," Chiron explained calmly. "The effects of the cookies have changed Percy into a one year-old. Everyday she should gain a year and after 16 days he'll be back to normal. Although, he won't remember anything that has happened after the age that he is… so, I suggest we try not to tell him anything."

"Okay," I replied.

Alright, this was going to be fine. Percy will be back to normal in 16 days and until then… I'll just have to take care of him.

"I can take care of him Chiron," I offered, standing up as I rocked the now sleeping son of Poseidon.

"Alright, it will be a rather big job though," Chiron agreed, looking at… my one year-old… boyfriend anxiously. "If you need any help don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure that Grover or any of the Aphrodite girls would love to help you."

"I think I'll be fine, but thank you," I replied, starting off towards Percy's cabin, "I think we'll stay in Percy's cabin, alright?"

"Of course," Chiron said. "Be aware that Percy will most likely still have his powers… and by that I mean the powers of a 16 year old son of Poseidon, no matter the physical age that he is."

I stopped.

"You mean that if he throws a tantrum… he could cause an earthquake? Or a small tidal wave!?" I shouted before I could stop myself.

This just keeps getting better.

"I suppose so," Chiron muttered. "I must research."

He walked back inside, leaving me with my… oh so scary thoughts. Finally I sighed and decided what would happen, would happen. I entered Cabin 3, greeted by the familiar smell of salt-water. I exhaled a sigh of replied and placed Percy under the covers of his bed, tucking him in gently and placing a couple pillows around him. Hey, I had done this before. Not many times, but I have. I sighed again and plopped down on the bed beside his, closing my eyes as I thanked the gods that the sun was already almost gone.

"WHAAAA! WHAAAA!" Percy cried, flailing around in the makeshift crib.

And now, I remember why I really didn't like babysitting. I stood back up and picked Percy back up, admiring his shinning green eyes as I rocked him back and forth. I looked over at the salt-water fountain that sat in the corner of the cabin and bit my lip as I noticed the water churning. This was going to be a long week.