"The Keystone!" she shrieked with her sisters, as she felt her weaving waiver, before her lay uncertainty, which was normal, but this time there was more, much more … too much.

She could not envision blurred lines that the strings before her would make, instead it was all turning into one swamp of blurred colour, all because of the Keystone.

"Calm" Clotho, her sister of the drawing from the veil's power, soothed over her shrieking, her pain, her ... SHE COULD NOT SEE. "Shut up" Atropos snapped at Clotho, concerned for her sister, as her pain continued wracked through her.

To any passing they would see as her hands bled, scars ripping open from her as blood pooled at her feet, it was all changing too fast.

Clotho suffered the least, she could still feel the thread she needed to draw from behind the unknown, vaguely feeling the outline from one to the other, a guessing game to even her until she finally presented the thread to the world.

Atropos, on the other hand, could feel her scissors humming, ready to be drawn, knowing she was there was much to cut. Could feel it sharpening in anticipation, so much so that even the handle cut into her, pain thrumming through her, pulsing sharply. She did not have the grace to gasp in pain, no they were not permitted.

Lachesis could feel the 'blood' pooling at her feet, which she dimly thought of how odd she had not anchored herself into a body enough to actually gain wounds, but she was denied that, she was a fate, she was not allowed to vanish from the pain the veil must be doing the anchoring for her as she felt all the threads she had painstakingly weaved into place, rip from their places ripping her skin with it.

Lachesis finally stopped screaming but the nausea of the shifting thread, caused her to fall to her knees.

"The world weaving … gone … keystone … missing" Lachesis could not bear it any longer and despite the veils hardest effort to chain her to the mortal realm, she slipped through its intangible fingers and through the veil.

- that day the world changed, because the keystone, or the one thread that was supposed to remain a constant vanished unable to stabilise the thread of the future and leaving the fates in pain as all that should be … shifted.

Almost any fixed points that had ever existed for the future disappeared, the fates could no more vague the future than any other mortal shaman-

In the mortal realm, away from the 'in between' that housed the fates teenagers froze as a pitched echoing scream travelled through the valley, weapons ready facing the source, The Big House.

Above in Olympus, Apollo couldn't breathe so this is what asphyxiation feels like which he shouldn't as gods didn't need to breathe . He fell to his knees as pain rippled through him.

Deep in his slumber, Ra felt the ripple through daut and turned away.

All over the world shamans curled into their minds for sanctuary others thanked their pantheon for their protection from the sheer power of the … shift, while their gods suffered under it.

- The world had changed and everyone knew it-

Well everyone besides a boy asleep in an alley who felt it as he was blocked from Morpheus's power and turned away further into his sleep. That day Percy Jackson was hidden from the Great Weave of Fate.

- The Keystone of the future had… disappeared-

A half-blood of the eldest gods

To never reach sixteen

The hero's soul, no hero no more

The final traitor to the unknown

...Olympus

"You're different" Percy blinked the sleep out of his eyes as a small curious head looked down at him. The dream where he drank poison still so fresh in his mind and he could almost imagine the taste on his tongue.

"I mean most peopol want their wevenge and some o' dem ain't weally nice people, but you don't want yours, well it's hard to tell 'cause your like weally, weeally faint almost as if you're not there, but you are here - so that can't be wight, but you're like … different. Oh and I'm Eth- wait Dad always says I shou- shoun- can't ... tell peopol my name but you…"

Percy struggled to keep up with the bubbly kid, Jeez did the kid ever breath.

"... and so I fink it's okay so yeah, I'm Ethan and you were just like lying here…"

Reflexively Percy clutched his backpack almost as if it could protect him from the avalanche of words that threatened to bury him.

(When did he get the backpack? He thought at the back of his mind. And how did he just know it was his)

He sat up from the cold concrete which he hadn't even realised he was lying on, noting the batton stuck to the side of the blue backpack that cost way more than he had ever had "Um hi? I'm Percy" the eight-year-old said cautiously as -the kid- Ethan took a big gulp of air.

"Why are you here?" Ethan did the cute kid thing where tipped his head to the side and stared at Percy with big eyes.

"I don't know, where even am I?" he asked glancing around at the alley he lay in, a fire escape above him and the sky lighting up the end of the tunnel-like space.

"No clue" the black haired five year old chirped, "I was lost and I found you here so…" he trailed off, as he stared at something behind Percy, the eight-year-old frowned curiously and turned his head.

Were those flip-flops, a high pitched deranged laughter echoed through the hallway, "kararin kororin kankororin" it chanted gleefully as it raced towards them.

So before either of them realised it, Percy had jumped to his feet and was pulling Ethan along by his hand as he ran the opposite way from the deranged sandal-headed-dwarf-monster. The five-year-old struggled to keep up on short legs and Percy swept him up, carrying him awkwardly as he bolted down the back streets of Manhattan.

The crazed laughter grew louder, the sandal monster so near that it soon would be in reaching distance to jump on his back. He was fast, for an eight-year-old but that meant nothing to a spirit- monster.

He felt his hackles go up and just at the last minute he threw himself to the side narrowly avoiding the three fingered claws that sought to dig into his skin.

Roughly landing , as he tried to protect the five-year-old , arm wrapped around Ethan as his shoulder took the brunt of the fall. He sifted and pain lanced up his atm , dimmed by the adrenaline that pumped through his system flushing his cheeks.

The one-eyed sandal monster turned to them and Percy's arm reached out desperately for something, anything to try and hit the thing with, he could only reach his backpack and he gripped it in preparation.

The thing approached and just it was within grabbing distance he swung with all his might.

RiRi- ii -ip

Something gave and it was no the backpack that hit the creature but instead the odd metal baton that had violently dislodged from the side of said bag.

He stared numbly at the flip-flop that had violently hit the wall and crumpled to the ground he didn't hit it that hard, did he? And that blue light that flashed from his dream was a trick of the light, right?

Ethan grabbed the backpack and Percy's uninjured arm and pulled him.

"Percy come on, let's go".

Percy numbly got to his feet eyes only seeing the downed creature, but he quickly followed Ethan as it began to stir.

"Yeah let's go"

Hades frowned, as his strongest most prized hellhound (who had the most powerful puppy do eyes in existence- he flinched at the thought of the pink bedazzled collar that had her begging with a whine to the high heavens) had been defeated by the spawn of his brother. But Hades was not a dimwit, he was not going to believe that, the child didn't know of his heritage and from the scent that Thanatos had presented him with there was no hint of training, he should be dead, lining up at the doors of the Judges as Hades watched his young soul who had been doomed to the fate since the day he was born as the son of an oath-breaker.

The oddest thing however was not the defeat of Nerezza (darkness in Italian), in remembrance of Maria his grudges lasted through eons and so did his loves and so his strongest hellhound honoured her (he loved and loved and lost it all to his youngest brother, his children- Bianca… Nico, his love...Maria), no the oddest was now that he was aware of the son of Poseidon he should be able to sense him easily, and he could … up until yesterday.

Poseidon did not only break his oath, but he was also interfering. Which Hades would not allow. Why should he be able to hold his child when Hades couldn't even see them for fear that Zeus would know he had gone to the surface and would be watched, and he was not letting his children die to his foolish egomaniac of a brother.

Despites Poseidon's power, his brother wasn't the most cunning of gods, he could not keep his child under the sea with him, not yet, but his cloaking power was not completely undetectable at least not to one of Hades' standard.

But first, he needed to find where the child was last.

His eyes closed in concentration.

Black pools burning with wrath snapped open

There.

Ariel waited sitting in her mortal form, sipping a mug of hot chocolate idly as she waited as she had done for hours now.

Her young apprentice was going to awaken to Bakezori soon, she smiled as she remembered conjuring the spirit from all the way in China, the diminutive had been so confused as it's single eye had blinked dizzily at her. A sandal monster that was so old and that had so many owners that it had gained a life of it's own from all the personality's it had met.

She laughed at that thought, a clear and crystal sound, as she remembered their catchy chant "Kararin kororin" she hummed to her own tune, with a docile smile on her lips, oh they were so cute those little things, but just about scary enough for an eight year old apprentice who was so green behind the ears that trees could envy him.

She felt her clone moving around as it arranged the procession, it was the least she could do for the boy as she waited. The Hellhound with the pink collar had been looking for her charge and something had been tracking him ,she could sense it and it was only an amount of time before the source finally came looking. She knew of Hades was coming and she was waiting.

Too bad for him this was her home turf and he was standing right where she wanted him should he try anything.

She felt him searching and she purposefully amplified the magical signatures around her, enough that he would find it easily, but in no way guess a trap, it kinda helped that her apprentice had a large signature, they would have to work on that.

There.

He was coming, she focused , this was Hades, of the greek pantheon, he preferred the male form and had a wife named Persephone.

By only thinking the facts she would not affect his personality, she would meet him and see his true personality not tempers or appearances forced on him by the power of human persuasion on the veil that controlled all power.

She felt the clone return to her, done arranging the transport for her and Percy to the destination.

She didn't even blink at the deity that had appeared in her room, to any normal person empty space suddenly turned into a tall imposing man in a finely tailored suit, but to her, he announced it loud and clear as he entered almost glacially slow.

"Hades" she greeted, with a nod of her head, rising and offering her hand, they were equals and he was not going to think otherwise.

Inwardly she smirked, his shock carefully hidden, she held all the cards so what are you gonna do about that?

He, however, felt powerful, she saw him, well more she didn't see him he was himself untainted by the human view of his power and temper, he was Pluto and Hades, whole as he hadn't been in a long time, powerfull.

He raised his hand slowly and slipped his into hers to shake it, she gripped it as quickly as lightning, using the contact to wrap them both in a bit of her magic and move them to the other dimension. Suddenly the power he felt didn't seem so significant in face of her power enough to move them both, and she showed no state of energy depletion no matter how small, he almost shivered at thought of how much power she held.

One side of her lip lifted slightly as she released his hand. She knew she was the image in her other form, she was represented as whatever she wished here because this was her dimension and whatever she said was the reality here.

She turned back to her couch which had turned into an elegant chaise lounge, her robes swished as she settled down.

Hades stood tensely at the sudden change in territory, she had all the power here ad he could do nothing about that.

She lifted her mouth into a cordial smile. "Please do sit, would you like to drink anything in particular?"

He sat stiffly, "No, thank you" he said cautiously.

"Then we'll get straight to the point then" she raised a delicate eyebrow, "do tell me why you are here" it was not a request it was an order, but Hades had pride and there was no way this woman no matter how powerful would gain the satisfaction of his concession.

He was no stranger to politics on his back foot.

"Here" he began dryly "well that would be because you seem to have an affinity to … traveling. No?" he stared at her coolly.

Ooh, someone fun! She thought gleefully , and suddenly Hades wasn't so sure in the face of the gleam in her eye, he didn't know if it was predatory or crazy all he knew was that he didn't. Of course, that didn't mean he was going to give in, he would never give in easily no matter who the opponent, he would find Poseidon and his spawn.

Stubborn, and careful, but he would pay for ever thinking he could insult her.

"So you're looking for your brother" statement. And pause.

Hades blinked, feeling the feather light touch that was so easily missed, reach and shoved bringing up iron walls around his mind, he hadn't had a contest of minds in so long, he berated himself at his complacency.

"You are very skilled, but I do not have the name of one so skilled," he said carefully, this was the only influence he could have on her and he would grip it like a lifeline if he wanted to get out of this unharmed. This woman was as scary as the dragon her eyes alluded to, blood red and hungry, he had no clue what this woman wanted, but she was powerful enough that her name may seem like nothing.

Thank goodness for his studies in the obscure arts one of which being names, he carefully held his mind barred from any intruders, aware at how easily he could miss her slipping stealthily into the crevices of his mind.

A sharp smile, all fang and threat, he would love that wouldn't he " Very smooth, however... I don't need a reaffirmation of my pride " she deliberately expanded her power, condensed it so much so that she would suffocate him "what I want..." her presence looming as she didn't even raise a finger "is to have a decent conversation with a decent man, how about you?"

It was presented as sweet sickly sweet as he choked under the sheer pressure, nobody should be able to do this, not when he had both his halves working as one, but not even the pure force of him could hold against this and his shields crumbled.

"Y-yes" he barely choked out, and the pressure finally let up, he composed himself quickly ...she was far more deadly than he first suspected. She had power and skill to back up confidence that he had first mistaken for arrogance.

"Brilliant, so why is it that you have decided to come to my humble abode", repeating her question, pointedly chastising his defiance behind a sweet smile, and the scariest thing was how the smile was so genuine it reached her eyes effortlessly and crinkled their corners.

No matter how outclassed he was he would not give in, he would do his best and the best he could do now was survive.

He snorted mentally a proud god reduced to this.

"You see my brother has broken his oath and as I was punished, so should he, and now he has chosen to directly interfere with that" he did not elaborate.

"And you are with me because…" she trailed off questioningly, when will you snap for me ... I want the real you, so show me .

"You seem to have been in contact with his magical signature, I am hunting him and he is not so skilful as he may seem to think he is at hiding" he held onto his temper, even as he ached at the reminder of why -Maria, I'm sorry.

She easily felt it, the crack in his walls so she coaxed them down, his none the wiser.Guilt, misery, love, yes she finally had a person to talk to, not a deity who defended his domain, simply a lover who had lost his love and children to an oath, it hurt so much that she could feel it pulsing from him. She admired his strength, a strength she never had, she reached mentally no longer probing but simply there, warm and comfort for the loneliest soul she had met in all these years.

"I see so this is lawfull revenge at your own hurt" she seemed sad and he relaxed without even realising it.

She thought silently and not the threatening pauses she held over his head like a guillotine before but a solemn thinking silence where she stared at nothing, as if lost in thought, he never even realised that his shields had fallen long ago, for some reason he had no inclination to put them back up.

Why?, he looked, oh, he realised it was because her shield had fallen to, he couldn't see her thoughts they were still a haze blocking him, but it was a sign of trust for him not to take advantage of the millisecond reaction time she would need in order to defend the most vulnerable part of her being.

He should be berating himself but he never has the instincts for mental battle, and he felt tired.

Why was he so alone?

He felt more comfortable in a dimension where he was powerless, with the most dangerous stranger he had ever met who threatened him as easily as if he were mortal, more than his own family.

A stranger who actually listened to him and accepted his need to settle his grudge. Who saw him and not an assumed image that was far too set before she had even seen him, like his siblings, he thought bitterly.

The feel of eyes resting on his figure drew him back into the power of those blood red eyes, no longer the cutting power that pierced his very essence, no it was gentle as molten lava, warm and slow and dangerous if you went too far but for now, it was okay.

"Well I can't offer you what you want but I can offer…" her razor smile had returned but this time it was not shearing away at him, no it was presented as an offering just as much as the hand she held out, a wicked friendship and with something delicious first on the menu.

Yes,please.

So yeah, chapter 2.

This is all really thanks to strongward- cause I wasn't really confident I this story but I couldn't disappoint.

I hate it when authors disappoint so if you ever think I need to get off my behind, just drop me an email or something so that I actually do something.

In fact, this chapter was actually planned with more scenes but even without them it's pretty long, which is actually good new cause that means that

I have started the next chapter already!

*startled gasp from the crowd*

so yeah it's 2:20 am right now so say thank you cause this is for you and I have to suffer from sleep deprivation.

Yours sincerely Mind :)