A/N: What's up hashtag darkest timeline? I say that but there are obviously darker takes on things, this is just the one I'm viewing as the darkest while Percy is still functionally the very good person we know him to be, and I think he'd back me up on this being his darkest timeline. I'll be real I keep going between hating everything about this chapter and being entirely apathetic about necessary evils. Eh, on with the show. (xposted to a03 and tumblr if that's more your speed)
Hook: Percy is missing. Again. Maybe. Except not at all. Either way it's all Poseidon's fault and Annabeth has had it up to here with the gods. (What happens when our Percy is replaced with Darkest-Timeline!Percy overnight? And just what makes his timeline so damn dark?)
Title: Without You
Chapter One: Lost
Annabeth woke in a cold sweat, her whole body tight and agitated. Her hand was on her sword and she was on her feet milliseconds later. Something was wrong. Her first thought, unsurprisingly, Percy.
She ran to his cabin, only to find the door already open and him face down and unconscious next to his bunk.
It took less than ten minutes to rouse Jason, who helped her carry her unnecessarily heavy boyfriend to the Big House, as well as Chiron and Will Solace. In the rush and faint light of dawn Annabeth hadn't noticed at first, but in the full flush of the house she saw clearly a thick strip of pure white hair amongst Percy's windswept hair, similar to the one that had grown out years ago, but uncomfortably different as well.
After that she noticed a few other subtle differences. He had a thin scar marring his right eyebrow, another very faint one under his chin. Annabeth couldn't be sure but she would have sworn he was...paler than he had been the day before. And not in a 'supernatural coma/potential sickness' sort of way, but a 'I missed the sun this summer' kind of way.
Will was looking him over, taking his vitals, pronouncing them normal, when Percy gasped awake. In blinding speed, even to her, he rolled off of the couch onto his feet and had a dagger in his hand she thought maybe had been on a bookcase behind him.
His eyes were...they were all wrong. There was a hardness there that shook Annabeth to her core. She'd never actually seen him level such a cold gaze at her before, only glimpsed it in battle when he faced enemies. It was another thing altogether to face it herself. It made her blood run cold.
Percy's attention flicked from her to Will and Chiron and he marginally relaxed. "What happened?" He demanded of the pair. "Why am I up here?"
"You were passed out on the floor of your cabin." Will said slowly. "Annabeth found you and she and Jason brought you up here."
Percy looked to Chiron and then back to Will, he let the weapon fall to his side but his grip on it remained firm. "Who?"
"Hilarious Percy," Will said with a scoff. "But I'm not falling for your amnesia 'relapse' again."
Percy studied Will for a long moment. "Who the hell is Annabeth?" He pointed to dagger at the blonde across the room. "And who is she?"
Needless to say there was a mild amount of chaos after that question was posed. At first Will and Chiron assumed another case of supernatural amnesia, but Annabeth was quick to counter that with her observations.
This Percy had scars she didn't recognize, he still had a chunk of bright white hair, and he didn't move or look or sound quite like her boyfriend. He was... wrong, a knock-off or a weird substitution, or something. But definitely not her boyfriend. This wasn't a Percy whose memory had been tampered with again, this was a different Percy altogether.
After a few tense moments of speculation they all took seats and the other Percy kept his pilfered weapon on his right thigh, still distrusting.
"I don't understand." Will reiterated. "You know who I am," Percy nodded. "Who Chiron is," Again he gave a swift affirmation. "Even Jason?" Percy confirmed this to be true. Will scratched his brow. "Uh, Nico?" Another yes. "Okay, Piper?" And yes, Leo and Hazel and Frank. He knew Rachel Dare, he knew Grover, though he flinched almost imperceptibly to anyone that wasn't Annabeth Chase at the mention of his best friend's name. The list went on and he confirmed camper after Roman.
"So the only person you don't know is...Annabeth." Will concluded, sharing a thoughtful look with Chiron.
Annabeth felt his steady green gaze settle on her and she met it, searching for someone she knew she wouldn't find. There wasn't an ounce of recognition in his eyes. "No," He answered softly. This had been her nightmare once. Well, one of them. When he was missing, those dark months of searching, after Jason's memories started to come back so slowly. A part of her had been worried they'd find him and he wouldn't remember her, remember them. She knew, in her very soul, that this was not her Percy, but it still hurt to see him look at her without the love, the awe and wonder, she'd grown used to over the years. It was all wrong.
"I think she's right though." He broke their staring contest to return his attention to Will and Chiron. "I don't think I'm, uh," He gestured vaguely to the trio opposite him. "Your Percy or whatever." He ran a hand through his hair. "My Will Solace just cut his hair short for the summer." He pointed to Chiron's left arm. "My Chiron has a scar from the Battle of Manhattan." He ran a thumbnail across his bicep. "And obviously we don't have an...Annabeth." He finished, shifting in his seat.
"How do we know you're Percy Jackson at all?" Annabeth tried to keep her voice even, a lot about the kid said 'danger' in bright neon lights she didn't want to provoke him, but there was still an edge to her tone.
"Huh," The interloper shrugged. "I guess you don't." He tapped the fingers of his left hand on his left knee. A nervous habit her boyfriend had too when forced to sit still. "I mean, anything you ask me we won't know if it's just different where I'm from, or if I'm lying." He said it matter-of-factly, almost with disinterest.
"So why should we trust you?" Annabeth pressed.
"You shouldn't." He replied quickly. That wasn't exactly the answer she was expecting. "I wouldn't."
Will turned to Chiron. "Could we like test him?" He rolled his hand. "Like prove he's the son of Poseidon, or think of something only Percy Jackson could do or...something?"
"What did you have in mind Will?" Chiron raised an eyebrow.
Will nodded his head to Annabeth. "Well we have the foremost Percy Jackson expert right here don't we?" His looked to Annabeth. "What would prove he was Percy, Annabeth?"
The other Percy also shifted his focus to her again, confusion coloring his eyes, his brow creasing. He clearly questioned Will's assertion, but chose not to verbalize it. Annabeth bit the inside of her cheek and considered the issue at hand. The guy was right, any question he answered incorrectly weren't exactly proof he was lying, just that his life had differed from the Percy she knew. They needed something fundamental, something that wouldn't change no matter what…(timeline? Universe? Athena give her strength) he was from…
It took her sometime to think of something unlikely to be alterable. "Your mom," She cleared her throat. "She told me once," On one of the late nights when he was missing and Sally sat up with her as they scoured the internet for signs of him. "There was something you always did, accidentally, you didn't even realize until a couple of years ago." Her gaze met his again. Gray on green. It took a second but then she saw it, the flicker of understanding.
He hadn't noticed growing up, Sally had told her that night. His mother had worried he would one day, and it'd be too soon and his powers would really begin to manifest and he would no longer be safe. It was also when she knew her son would not lead an easy life. That he was made for world changing things, and she had to prepare him as best she could. To raise a man that could be great and kind, to be powerful but not covet supremacy. It was another night Annabeth thanked all the gods and fates for Sally Jackson.
"I…" He paused, his eyes betraying him to her the way they always did."I used to reach into the boiling water to grab the spaghetti when she made dinner." He let his gaze drop to his lap. "I didn't realize hot water was supposed to be so...hot." A small crooked smile fought for purchase on his face. "But she said the first time she noticed I was maybe, like, two, and I pulled a teapot over. I should have had second degree burns, at least, but…" He trailed. "Probably should have understood before thirteen that hot water burns other people." His slight smirk was so reminiscent of her Percy she felt an actual pain in her chest. "I thought other people were just being," He gestured. "Dramatic."
Annabeth looked to Chiron and Will and nodded. As far ash knew Sally Jackson was the only person on the planet, besides herself, that knew Percy was resistant to extreme temperatures from infancy. He'd stumbled into scalding baths, fallen in icy puddles, turned the tap the wrong way without noticing and never borne a single sign.
Just then a soft green light burned to life and there above this Percy's head was the telltale trident she hadn't seen since Tyson. The light flared to a blinding luminescence and and they all fought to keep their eyes open as a harsh sound filtered through the epicenter. Then just as suddenly the light faded, the noise receded and they were able to lift their heads.
The other Percy frowned, eyes glittering darkly. "I guess that answers that question." He said with a sigh.
"What did Poseidon say?" Chiron ventured. That had been him talking? Why so distorted? Why so painful? How could that be called communication?
Percy's jaw twitched and his eyes were cast upward. "It's hard to translate him when he does that, it's more like...impressions." He turned back to them. "But basically he needed to trade us?" He tilted his head as he considered this interpretation. "I guess trade works, your Percy is in my...world or dimension maybe, and I'm here until he decides this field trip from hell is over." He gave a heavy sigh. "Thanks dad, as always." He scrubbed his face with one hand. "Always great with the specifics that guy. Never vague at all."
So his presence wasn't an accident, this was the will of a god. Not just any god either, but his father. And there were other dimensions, or timelines, or something, and the gods could manipulate them. Fantastic. Only the fates knew what Aphrodite did with that kind of power. Annabeth bit back a shudder at the thought. She also sent a silent pray to the god of the sea, reminding him that if he didn't bring her boyfriend back, and in the condition she'd left him, he'd be answering to her. Divine power or not.
After it was decided to let this Percy stay with them until whatever purpose Poseidon had was fulfilled Annabeth left him to Will and Chiron to find her friends and fresh air. She didn't need to go far. They were all on the porch of the Big House waiting as the sun filtered through the trees.
It took a while for them all to fully understand and accept what she was telling them. To be fair they hadn't seen him. Only Jason had, and he was characteristically silent as Annabeth explained that their Percy was stuck in an alternate something and this alternate Percy was stuck with them until, well, until.
"So what's different about his life?" Piper asked as they broke cabin rules* and congregated at Jason's table for breakfast.
Annabeth sighed and shrugged one shoulder. "So far it seems to mostly be that he has no idea who I am." The whole table stilled, forks silent in midair, mouths hanging open, all eyes swiveling in her direction.
"And he's alive?!" Leo cried, the first the break the halting silence. Nervous laughter tumbled from a few of her friends at the outburst.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Apparently."
Leo set down his toast. "That just doesn't seem...likely."
Annabeth fingered her camp necklace underneath her shirt collar. The other Percy's had remained hidden during their interrogation. She found herself wondering if his beads were different as a result. If there was no Annabeth had he travelled to Los Angeles to confront Hades in the Underworld? Had he rescued the golden fleece? Resurrected Thalia? He bore the mark from holding up the sky. Had he traversed the labyrinth? If so who with? Who searched for him when Hera took him? Who found Athena's missing statue? Without her had he never fallen into Tartarus? She was torn between a desire to never set eyes on the interloper again and an insatiable curiosity to delve into the what ifs.
Piper nudged her and the Athena camper dropper her necklace. "So friend or foe?" Piper asked quietly, even so the whole table's attention was on the blonde.
Annabeth met their gazes individually. "Friend." She said finally. "For now."
"So, he's still Percy?" Leo asked across from her.
She considered this for a long moment. She thought of the scars that didn't match, the wariness in his eyes, the hyper-vigilance. However she also couldn't help but think of his crooked troublemaker grin, his wry tone even in the face of unfathomable insanity, the expressiveness still evident in his clear sea green gaze. "I think so." She told them softly. Her mind still back at the couch of the Big House, still in another life altogether where the person who mattered most to her had likely woken up, and in a world without her.
*those rules make no sense to me I'm not even pretending anyone should follow them
"Percy?" His head hurt. "Percy?" A concerned voice repeated. He groaned and sat up carefully, the heel of one hand braced on against his temple as he did.
It took a moment for the world to shift into focus and Will Solace's face to come into view above him on one side, Nico di Angelo on the other, with matching frowns. "Will?" He looked from one to the other. "Nico?" The couple shared a glance above him. "What the hell happened?" He realized he was on a couch in the Big House. Also that Will had cut his hair since last night. Strange.
"We're not sure." Will sat on the edge of the couch and put his hands on either side of Percy's head, tilting it gently from side to side and he assessed him. He flashed a light into Percy's eyes, and the son of Poseidon did his best not to flinch at the intrusion. "You weren't at breakfast." Will told him as he measured his pulse. "Nico and I came to find you and you were passed out next to your bed."
Percy shifted and winced, his whole body was sore, liked he'd been run over by chariot and it's horses. A few times. And maybe a few chariots. "I don't know." He said with a sigh. "I dropped Annabeth off at her cabin last night, went to bed and…" He looked up shaking his head.
Both Nico and Will were looking at him like he'd lost his mind. "Who?" They asked in unison.
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