Chapter 1: Ned I

Ned took a moment to glance back at his eldest sons. Robb was holding two of the direwolf pups closely, already smitten with them. The boy always had a gentle heart, with no taste for killing. Even when hunting as a boy, he loathed when any beast suffered from a misaimed arrow. Part of Ned worried, for a Lord Paramount had to have some modicum of cruelty to rule, but another part was proud.

Behind Robb, Jon held onto the albino runt he'd found in the brush. The parallels were not lost on Ned. A white-fur runt of a litter, nearly left abandoned in the wilds. The Gods loved their ironies, especially when it came to haunting Ned about the hardest choice he'd ever made.

Or perhaps their cruelty is meant to temper any hubris I might form.

Bran was up ahead chatting endlessly to captain Jory. In the rear, Rodrick was chastising Theon for his disrespect to Robb before, when he had been so eager to kill the pups the moment Ned gave the word. Rodrik had even taken the pups Theon had been holding away. The master-at-arms was always too harsh with Theon, Ned thought, but he had reason to be. A penchant for violence ran in the Greyjoys, and it was exactly something Ned had hoped to curb by taking Theon as his ward. Rodrik shook his head and road forward, closer to Jon, leaving Theon to sulk in the rear.

They traveled a while longer, Theon falling back as he muttered to himself. On another glance behind himself, Ned noticed then, as his horse followed Jory's dutifully, that Theon quite suddenly stiffened on his horse. His eyes went wide, his mouth slack, and then he started to twitch. Ned's brow furrowed as he watched Theon let go of the reins. By chance, a spasm made his boots slip out of the stirrups, and a second threw him off his horse.

Ned lept into action. "Theon!" he cried, and everyone pulled their horses to a stop just as Theon crashed into the river beside the path. It was shallow, but Theon had landed face first in a downward stream, his legs still on the dirt and grass of the road. Ned came off his horse, as the others still had pups in their arms. The distance between them, however, was enough to have him fear the worst. He rushed to Theon's body and grabbed him by the shoulders. With a grunt, he pulled the boy up and over to the edge of the river before flipping him over.

Robb had handed his pups to Jon, and crouched next to them. "Theon!" Robb shouted. "Theon what's wrong?!" Panic was carved on Robb's face, ill-prepared to lose a friend so suddenly and randomly.

Theon's convulsions had stopped, but his eyes were closed. Ned put a hand on his chest and shook him. "Wake up, Theon," he called, "I need you to wake up!" He shook the boy again, but nothing happened. Ned went for one more vigorous shake when Robb grabbed Theon's other shoulder. The added force made them lift Theon up before slamming his torso down, their hands pressing hard on his ribs.

And suddenly Theon's eyes opened as water bubbled out of his mouth and nose. He began to cough violently and looked around, eyes crazed. They settled on Robb's face, and then Ned's. Something was wrong, Ned could tell. Theon stared at them like he was seeing something unbelievable. And he kept jerking his head between each of them that he almost seemed like he was going to convulse again.

He looks like someone who thinks they're going mad…

"Are you alright, boy?" Ned asked, furrowing his brow.

"R-robb?" Theon let out, voice cracking. "L-lord Stark?"

What just happened? What is wrong with him?

Ned's own panicking thoughts were interrupted when Theon sat up. He put his arms around both of their necks and pulled them in close. Theon was never one for appearing emotional, and he would never act so vulnerable with others nearby. Hugging his captor and lord was certainly something he'd never done before.

But Ned had always felt attached to Theon. More importantly, the boy was clearly upset by whatever it was that occurred. So Ned brought his arm forward to hug Theon back, only one moment of hesitation after Robb had. Theon shuddered and Ned worried it was more convulsions, only to realize that Theon was beginning to sob.

By the Gods, this day only gets stranger and stranger…

Chapter 1: Theon II

When Theon saw Robb peering over him, his first emotion was joy. Perhaps the great Hall of the Dead was a far more metaphorical term. A god could have a forest in their halls, he guessed. A nice little paradise where he would get to dine and spar with Robb and Lord Stark. A chance to act like a carefree youth again, and try to feel like he deserved any forgiveness they might offer him now that they were all dead and gone.

But as the two Starks helped him up, Theon began to feel confused. His chest and throat hurt terribly, and he saw no more smiling faces as he looked around. First was Ser Rodrick. That one made sense. He'd done the man wrong, so terribly wrong. But then there was Jon, who was quick to break eye contact. He possessed none of the commanding, kingly aura he'd grown into so naturally before. Even if he had died to the Walkers, Theon doubted he'd become so meek ever again.

Theon looked up the hill the train of horses. It took a moment to recognize Jory. The man had died so long ago, and it had been quite a while before Theon had seen him alive even before that. But beyond Jory…

"No!" Theon suddenly cried, breaking free of Robb and Ned's hold on him. He stumbled forward, towards Jory and Bran. "No, it can't be… Did I fail? Was it for nothing? DID YOU DIE?!" he cried, panicked eyes on the young Stark boy.

Bran was quick to become afraid. Theon must have looked mad to him, and Jory reared his horse to block the view between them. "What are you babbling, Greyjoy! You're scaring the boy!"

Ned's hands were on Theon then, grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to turn around. Seeing his face so close left Theon silent.

Stern, and yet kind. Commanding, and yet understanding. Everything I ever wanted to be. A truer lord has never existed…

"Theon. Listen to me," Ned said, slowly and firmly, "You need to calm down. You spasmed, fell into the river. You almost drowned. But you're going to be alright, boy. You're going to be alright. Take a breath, calm yourself."

Theon just stared at first, eyes still full of confusion and panic. For Bran to be here… It meant he had failed in the end. But nonetheless he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Then again, and his body, at least, relaxed, if not his mind.

"Good. Robb! Help him onto his horse. We still have a long ride back. Keep an eye on him."

Robb nodded to his father, and as he guided Theon to the empty saddle of his horse, he heard the yipping and yowling of the direwolf pups. Theon's eyes snapped to them, wriggling in Rodrcik's arms. He remembered them, remembered finding them. He remembered taking them back to Winterfell. Rodrick had taken them away from him because he'd been too eager to kill them.

As he was seated in his saddle, his legs and arms moving without thought, his expression changed from confused to troubled. Robb rode just beside him, and a little behind, choosing to keep moving along the edge of the river in case Theon fell again. Not that he remembered falling.

Jon rode in a similar position to Robb, with Rodrick handing him a few of the wolf pups before moving ahead of the three. Theon didn't think it was a coincidence that, as he slouched to the forest side of the path, Jon rode a little closer without a word.

He's worried I'll fall the other way. He'd never say that though.

Indeed, the bastard of Winterfell even teased Theon lightly to hide his concern. Not that he could get the emotion out of his eyes. "Did you get so jealous of our wolves, Greyjoy," Jon joked, "That you went looking for a kraken for yourself?"

Robb gave a halfhearted chuckle, probably eager to see the mood lightened. It was a decent jest to Theon, but it suddenly made him remember.

The Drowned God. The depths. I am to… what was the word? Rise? Live? To do so, and to fulfill my purpose.

My purpose…

The words wrang in his ears.

Drown the world… But also right the wrongs of the other gods?

It didn't make sense. Not all of it, at least. But he was starting to deduce the first part. This was more than just a place like the forests of the outer Wolfwood. It was the Wolfswood. And this was more than just a recreation of a memory. Everything was the same. Everything except himself.

I almost drowned. Lord Stark said I almost drowned in the river. I can still feel some water in my lungs.

It was impossible to be a coincidence. So he rode, frowning to himself, and tried to come to terms with the idea that was living his own life again. If it was true, then maybe he could change things. He could save Lord Stark, save Robb. He could stop the war entirely, could help everyone start preparing for the real war. That had to be, in his mind, what the Drowned God had meant by righting what other gods had ruined. He could fix everything! He could make it alright, see to a better future for everyone.

Because this time, I'm not the same fool I once was. I have years of experience in the world. Fighting in battles, captaining a ship, surviving Ramsay, raiding and rescuing.

I'm more ready for what's coming now than I ever could have been those years ago. And now I have years to get even more ready.

Theon then started to crack a smile, and even began to laugh. "What is dead may never die," he muttered to himself, "but rises again, harder and stronger..."

Jon had been close enough to hear, and looked at him as if he were mad.

Maybe I am. But how many madmen did I see change the world? Now I'm one of them.

[A/N]: I was going to wait until Monday to post this originally, but I'm going on a trip and found out my internet access may not be the best. So I figured I'd update this and Untapped Potential today before my flight.

I know this was a bit of a simple chapter, nothing too exciting and a little short. Which also factored into my decision to post it now rather than later. Still, I hope you enjoyed it! Theon may seem to have accepted and deduced what happened pretty quickly, but do recall he literally spoke to his own God after dying, so he's willing to jump on-board more ludicrous ideas like time travel with little resistance.

Please feel free to leave reviews, you have no idea how much they help motivate me to write. Knowing the fic has fans makes me want to give you more.